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Natural hazards · Lake Charles

Lake Charles, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lake Charles comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3,560 claims here since 1979. 13 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lake Charles?

88
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lake Charles to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes45%Inland flooding36%Tornadoes7%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Lake Charles faces

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

Hurricanes

45% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

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 Lake Charles flood?

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

3,560paid claims since 1979
$172Mpaid to owners
641homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • 2021 Mid-Spring Severe Storms: 1,110 claims, $75.4M
  • Hurricane Delta: 481 claims, $30.5M
  • Hurricane Ike: 330 claims, $30.8M

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 11 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (83) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lake Charles isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Calcasieu Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

209homes raised above flood level
69flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
30buildings retrofitted against wind
2buildings floodproofed
1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Lake Charles

13 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Lake Charles itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Lake Charles.

Brought FEMA money into Lake CharlesDeclared for Calcasieu Parish only
2021

Hurricane Ida

5 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
2021

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3,145 households applied for aid $7.3M aid approved $1.5M to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2021

Severe Winter Storms

769 households applied for aid $397K aid approved $535K to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2020

Hurricane Delta

15,640 households applied for aid $14.1M aid approved $3.1M to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2020

Hurricane Laura

67,805 households applied for aid $110M aid approved $178M to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2017

Tropical Storm Harvey

$179K to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

75 households applied for aid $47K aid approved
2008

Hurricane Ike

14,889 households applied for aid $6.5M aid approved $1.8M to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2008

Hurricane Gustav

13,351 households applied for aid $560K aid approved $395K to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

448 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $11K to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2005

Hurricane Rita

71,203 households applied for aid $153M aid approved $14.2M to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2005

Hurricane Katrina

701 households applied for aid $940K aid approved $436K to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
2002

Hurricane Lili

$152K to the City of Lake Charles for repairs
Calcasieu 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. Lake Charles covers 19 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lake Charles’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lake Charles. 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 Lake Charles total about $46.1M 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.

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