Natural hazards · Newellton

Newellton, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Newellton comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Newellton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Newellton to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes22%Inland flooding21%Drought19%Hurricanes10%Hail7%Heat waves7%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Newellton faces

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

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

19% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Newellton flood?

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

19paid claims since 1979

$387Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Gustav: 1 claim, $9K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tensas Parish.

Disasters that hit Newellton

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NewelltonDeclared for Tensas Parish only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

$8K to the Town of Newellton for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

40 households applied for aid $25K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

$8K to the Town of Newellton for repairs

Tensas Parish has had 18 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. Newellton 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 Newellton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Newellton. 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.