Natural hazards · Kentwood

Kentwood, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kentwood comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2012. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kentwood?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kentwood to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes54%Inland flooding25%Tornadoes9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Kentwood faces

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

Hurricanes

54% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Kentwood flood?

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

2paid claims since 2012

$237Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20122026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $137K
Hurricane Isaac: 1 claim, $100K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tangipahoa Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4buildings retrofitted against wind

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Kentwood

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KentwoodDeclared for Tangipahoa Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

3,187 households applied for aid $6.9M aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

981 households applied for aid $1.6M aid approved $171K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs

2012

Hurricane Isaac

890 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved

2008

Hurricane Ike

464 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

863 households applied for aid $932K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

3,653 households applied for aid $5.5M aid approved $107K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs

2002

Hurricane Lili

$1K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs

Tangipahoa Parish has had 35 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. Kentwood covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kentwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Kentwood. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Kentwood total about $3.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.