Natural hazards · Paulina

Paulina, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Paulina comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Paulina?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Paulina to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes60%Inland flooding13%Coastal flooding9%Tornadoes9%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Paulina faces

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

Hurricanes

60% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Coastal flooding

9% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 90 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Paulina flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Paulina.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Paulina 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. James Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Paulina

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PaulinaDeclared for St. James Parish only

2024

Hurricane Francine

198 households applied for aid $492K aid approved

2021

Hurricane Ida

1,249 households applied for aid $2.0M aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

32 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

196 households applied for aid $189K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

434 households applied for aid $406K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

567 households applied for aid $508K aid approved

St. James Parish has had 31 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Paulina

Paulina and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Paulinamostly hurricanesVery high

Grand Pointmostly hurricanesVery high

North Vacheriemostly hurricanesVery high

Lutchermostly 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. Paulina 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 Paulina’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Paulina. 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.