Natural hazards · Milton

Milton, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Milton comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 2016. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Milton?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Milton to be higher than in 90% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes47%Inland flooding32%Cold waves11%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Milton faces

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

Hurricanes

47% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Milton flood?

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

23paid claims since 2016

$2.9Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20162026

Biggest named events

Mid-summer severe storms: 23 claims, $2.9M

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lafayette Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Milton

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MiltonDeclared for Lafayette Parish only

2020

Hurricane Delta

3 households applied for aid $802 aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

21 households applied for aid $87K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

13 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

35 households applied for aid $27K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

4 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Lafayette Parish has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Milton

Milton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Miltonmostly hurricanesVery high

Lafayettemostly hurricanesVery high

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. Milton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Milton’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Milton. 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 Milton total about $2.8M 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.