Natural hazards · Mer Rouge

Mer Rouge, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mer Rouge comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1991. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mer Rouge?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mer Rouge to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding43%Tornadoes12%Drought9%Heat waves7%Earthquakes6%Cold waves5%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Mer Rouge faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 24 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Mer Rouge flood?

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

3paid claims since 1991

$18Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19912026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Morehouse Parish.

Disasters that hit Mer Rouge

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Mer RougeDeclared for Morehouse Parish only

2020

Hurricane Laura

58 households applied for aid $74K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

277 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

20 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

57 households applied for aid $208K aid approved $14K to the Village of Mer Rouge for repairs

2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

1998

Severe Ice Storm

$5K to the Village of Mer Rouge for repairs

Morehouse Parish has had 23 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. Mer Rouge 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 Mer Rouge’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Mer Rouge. 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.

Mer Rouge, LA natural hazards

How exposed is Mer Rouge?

What Mer Rouge faces

Inland flooding

Tornadoes

Drought

Heat waves

Earthquakes

Cold waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Mer Rouge flood?

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Hurricane Laura

Severe Storms and Flooding

Hurricane Isaac

Hurricane Gustav

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Ice Storm

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

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