Natural hazards · Empire

Empire, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Empire comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Empire?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Empire to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes84%Coastal flooding7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Empire faces

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

Hurricanes

84% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Coastal flooding

7% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Inland 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 Empire flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Plaquemines Parish.

Disasters that hit Empire

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EmpireDeclared for Plaquemines Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

41 households applied for aid $161K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Zeta

5 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

72 households applied for aid $100K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

13 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

77 households applied for aid $38K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

254 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

827 households applied for aid $8.9M aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

187 households applied for aid $199K aid approved

Plaquemines Parish has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Empire

Empire and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Empiremostly hurricanesVery high

Burasmostly hurricanesVery high

Port Sulphurmostly 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. Empire 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 Empire’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Empire. 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.