Jonesville is calmer than 77% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Jonesville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 55 claims here since 1979. 12 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Jonesville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Jonesville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Calmer than 449 of the 483 Louisiana towns we cover.
Jonesville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Jonesville flood? Sometimes: 55 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Jonesville, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Gustav6 claims · $155K
- Hurricane Delta3 claims · $142K
- The Mid-summer severe storms2 claims · $11K
Jonesville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Catahoula Parish.12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Jonesville
Disasters that paid out in Jonesville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Jonesville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm$42K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2021Severe Winter Storms72 households applied for aid$71K aid approved$251K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2020Hurricane Delta1 household applied for aid$22K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Laura15 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$147K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2019Flooding$21K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding116 households applied for aid$126K aid approved$63K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
Show all 13
- 2012Hurricane Isaac$3K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$5K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2008Hurricane Gustav643 households applied for aid$1.4M aid approved$89K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs6 flood claims paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$4K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Rita1 household applied for aid$2K aid approved$19K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Katrina$3K to the Town of Jonesville for repairs
- 199111 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Catahoula Parish has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Jonesville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Jonesville archive →What Jonesville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Heat waves
Cold waves
Strong wind
Get ready for what Jonesville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Catahoula Parish’s 33 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Jonesville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Jonesville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Jonesville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.