Palmetto’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palmetto comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 11 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Palmetto’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Palmetto flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palmetto. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Palmetto isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: St. Landry Parish.How exposed is Palmetto?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 38% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Calmer than 405 of the 483 Louisiana towns we cover.
Palmetto is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Palmetto faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Drought
Cold waves
11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Palmetto
Disasters that paid out in Palmetto itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Palmetto) and its biggest flood years.
- 2026Tropical Storm Arthur45 households applied for aid$188K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Delta32 households applied for aid$35K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Laura31 households applied for aid$32K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding51 households applied for aid$40K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac$7K to the Village of Palmetto for repairs
- 2008Hurricane Gustav200 households applied for aid$309K aid approved$13K to the Village of Palmetto for repairs
Show all 11
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding6 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Rita185 households applied for aid$169K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina1 household applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding28 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2002Hurricane Lili$3K to the Village of Palmetto for repairs
St. Landry Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
1927 · Floods - Mississippi River Flood
1927 · Floods - Mississippi River Flood
1927 · Palmetto, La., town flooded by crevasse watersGet ready for what Palmetto actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of St. Landry Parish’s 34 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 Palmetto’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Palmetto.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palmetto.
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.