Madisonville’s biggest natural hazard is hurricanes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Madisonville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 455 claims here since 1985. 13 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Madisonville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Madisonville flood? Yes: 455 flood claims since 1985
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Madisonville, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Isaac155 claims · $8.0M
- Hurricane Ida138 claims · $7.2M
- Hurricane Katrina80 claims · $4.1M
Madisonville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: St. Tammany Parish.13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Madisonville
Disasters that paid out in Madisonville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Madisonville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2026Tropical Storm Arthur10 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
- 2024Hurricane Francine$45K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs
- 2021Hurricane Ida4,288 households applied for aid$2.9M aid approved$908K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs142 flood claims paid that year
- 2020Hurricane Laura1 household applied for aid
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding25 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac654 households applied for aid$863K aid approved$89K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs156 flood claims paid that year
Show all 13
- 2008Hurricane Ike28 households applied for aid$26K aid approved31 flood claims paid that year
- 2008Hurricane Gustav756 households applied for aid$123K aid approved$58K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Rita149 households applied for aid$47K aid approved85 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Hurricane Katrina3,281 households applied for aid$7.4M aid approved$579K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan3 households applied for aid$1K aid approved5 flood claims paid that year
- 2002Hurricane Lili$56K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs20 flood claims paid that year
- 2002Tropical Storm Isidore$2K to the Town of Madisonville for repairs
St. Tammany Parish has had 37 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Madisonville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Madisonville archive →How exposed is Madisonville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.
Rated higher than 445 of the 483 Louisiana towns we cover.
Madisonville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Madisonville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Inland flooding
Get ready for what Madisonville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- 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 St. Tammany Parish’s 37 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 Madisonville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Madisonville.
- 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 Madisonville.
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.