Natural hazards · Catahoula

Catahoula, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Catahoula comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Catahoula?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Catahoula to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes46%Cold waves15%Tornadoes13%Drought12%Inland flooding7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Catahoula faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

46% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 24 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 7% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Catahoula flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Catahoula.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Catahoula isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: St. Martin Parish.

Disasters that hit Catahoula

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for St. Martin Parish shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Catahoula itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into CatahoulaDeclared for St. Martin Parish only

St. Martin Parish has had 40 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Catahoula is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Catahoula’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Catahoula. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.