Natural hazards · Ponchatoula

Ponchatoula, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ponchatoula comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 70 claims here since 1980. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ponchatoula?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ponchatoula to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes57%Inland flooding29%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Ponchatoula faces

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

Hurricanes

57% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ponchatoula flood?

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

70paid claims since 1980

$2.8Mpaid to owners

9homes flooded more than once

19802026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ida: 30 claims, $1.7M
Late winter severe storms: 9 claims, $215K
Hurricane Isaac: 5 claims, $286K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ponchatoula 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

61homes raised above flood level

14flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1buildings floodproofed

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Ponchatoula

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PonchatoulaDeclared for Tangipahoa Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

11,321 households applied for aid $16.4M aid approved $1.4M to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

2,793 households applied for aid $12.1M aid approved $22K to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

2012

Hurricane Isaac

1,670 households applied for aid $2.5M aid approved $49K to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

2008

Hurricane Ike

207 households applied for aid $593K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

2,191 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved $116K to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

8,494 households applied for aid $10.3M aid approved $1.1M to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

$6K to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

2002

Hurricane Lili

$5K to the City of Ponchatoula for repairs

Tangipahoa Parish has had 35 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. Ponchatoula 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 Ponchatoula’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ponchatoula. 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.