Natural hazards · French Settlement

French Settlement, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in French Settlement comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 180 claims here since 1985. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is French Settlement?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in French Settlement to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes47%Inland flooding34%Tornadoes8%Everything else12%

By hazard

What French Settlement faces

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

Hurricanes

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 42 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 French Settlement flood?

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

180paid claims since 1985

$11.5Mpaid to owners

20homes flooded more than once

19852026

Biggest named events

Mid-summer severe storms: 102 claims, $10.4M
Tropical Storm Allison: 26 claims, $476K
Hurricane Isaac: 15 claims, $319K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (4) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Livingston Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

19flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

10homes raised above flood level

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit French Settlement

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into French SettlementDeclared for Livingston Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

505 households applied for aid $743K aid approved $82K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

641 households applied for aid $4.3M aid approved $296K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

2012

Hurricane Isaac

166 households applied for aid $330K aid approved $13K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

2008

Hurricane Ike

13 households applied for aid $24K aid approved $4K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

214 households applied for aid $227K aid approved $18K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

46 households applied for aid $45K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

312 households applied for aid $300K aid approved $13K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

2002

Hurricane Lili

$3K to the Village of French Settlement for repairs

Livingston Parish has had 39 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. French Settlement 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 French Settlement’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of French Settlement. 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.