Natalbany’s biggest natural hazard is hurricanes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Natalbany comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 285 claims here since 1983. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Natalbany’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Natalbany flood? Yes: 285 flood claims since 1983
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Natalbany, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida114 claims · $7.9M
- The Late winter severe storms61 claims · $2.8M
- The Mid-summer severe storms51 claims · $1.9M
Natalbany isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tangipahoa Parish.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Natalbany
Disasters that paid out in Natalbany itself (aid to households or repair grants to Natalbany) and its biggest flood years.
- 2021Hurricane Ida147 households applied for aid$601K aid approved116 flood claims paid that year
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding206 households applied for aid$505K aid approved113 flood claims paid that year
- 2012Hurricane Isaac132 households applied for aid$262K aid approved10 flood claims paid that year
- 2008Hurricane Ike75 households applied for aid$173K aid approved6 flood claims paid that year
- 2008Hurricane Gustav164 households applied for aid$363K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina498 households applied for aid$814K aid approved
Show all 7
- 198327 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
Tangipahoa Parish has had 35 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Natalbany after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Natalbany archive →How exposed is Natalbany?
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.
Natalbany covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.
What Natalbany faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Get ready for what Natalbany 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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.
Natalbany and its neighbors
Natalbany has the highest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Tangipahoa Parish’s 35 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 Natalbany’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Natalbany.
- 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. Across Natalbany, expected losses total about $5.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Natalbany.
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.