Natural hazards · Chataignier

Chataignier, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chataignier comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1982. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chataignier?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chataignier to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding27%Cold waves21%Hurricanes20%Tornadoes17%Drought8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Chataignier faces

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

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Chataignier flood?

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

2paid claims since 1982

$54Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Evangeline Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Chataignier

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChataignierDeclared for Evangeline Parish only

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

28 households applied for aid $58K aid approved $25K to the Village of Chataignier for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

54 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

48 households applied for aid $39K aid approved

2002

Hurricane Lili

$1K to the Village of Chataignier for repairs

Evangeline Parish has had 24 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. Chataignier 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 Chataignier’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Chataignier. 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.