Natural hazards · Chalmette

Chalmette, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chalmette comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12,020 claims here since 1978. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chalmette?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chalmette to be higher than in 94% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes76%Inland flooding11%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Chalmette faces

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

Hurricanes

76% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Chalmette flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chalmette, from FEMA’s records.

12,020paid claims since 1978

$1,242Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Katrina: 8,848 claims, $1,209M
Tropical Storm Isidore: 101 claims, $446K
Tropical Storm Allison: 81 claims, $285K

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Chalmette 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. Bernard Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

129flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

54homes raised above flood level

1storm safe rooms built

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Chalmette

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Chalmette itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Chalmette.

Brought FEMA money into ChalmetteDeclared for St. Bernard Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

7,610 households applied for aid $9.3M aid approved

2020

Hurricane Zeta

560 households applied for aid $317K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

3,269 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

1 household applied for aid

2008

Hurricane Gustav

2,492 households applied for aid $316K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

4 households applied for aid

2005

Hurricane Katrina

19,951 households applied for aid $172M aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

69 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

St. Bernard Parish has had 35 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Chalmette

Chalmette and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Arabimostly hurricanesVery high

New Orleansmostly hurricanesVery high

Chalmettemostly hurricanesVery high

Merauxmostly hurricanesVery high

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. Chalmette covers 9 census tracts, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Chalmette total about $17.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.