Natural hazards · Merrydale

Merrydale, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Merrydale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 790 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Merrydale?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes21%Hurricanes11%Cold waves9%Heat waves5%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Merrydale faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Merrydale flood?

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

790paid claims since 1978

$41.3Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Mid-summer severe storms: 229 claims, $27.3M
Tropical Storm Allison: 126 claims, $5.2M
Hurricane Gustav: 56 claims, $2.3M

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: East Baton Rouge Parish.

Disasters that hit Merrydale

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for East Baton Rouge Parish shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Merrydale itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into MerrydaleDeclared for East Baton Rouge Parish only

East Baton Rouge Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Merrydale

Merrydale and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Merrydalemostly inland floodingVery high

Baton Rougemostly inland floodingModerate

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. Merrydale covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Merrydale’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Merrydale. 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 Merrydale total about $5.2M 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.