Natural hazards · Cottonport

Cottonport, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cottonport comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2011. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cottonport?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottonport to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and tornadoes.

Hurricanes24%Tornadoes17%Cold waves17%Inland flooding15%Drought11%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Cottonport faces

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

Hurricanes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 38 years in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 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 Cottonport flood?

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

2paid claims since 2011

$75Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $54K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Avoyelles Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Cottonport

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CottonportDeclared for Avoyelles Parish only

2026

Tropical Storm Arthur

350 households applied for aid $2.5M aid approved

2021

Hurricane Ida

1 household applied for aid $500 aid approved

2021

Severe Winter Storms

21 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

53 households applied for aid $19K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

396 households applied for aid $198K aid approved $25K to the Town of Cottonport for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

$38K to the Town of Cottonport for repairs

2002

Hurricane Lili

$18K to the Town of Cottonport for repairs

Avoyelles Parish has had 29 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. Cottonport 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 Cottonport’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cottonport. 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.