Natural hazards · Poydras

Poydras, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Poydras comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 826 claims here since 1978. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Poydras?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Hurricanes75%Inland flooding11%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Poydras faces

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

Hurricanes

75% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 14% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce 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 Poydras flood?

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

826paid claims since 1978

$98.8Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Katrina: 737 claims, $97.2M
Tropical Storm Isidore: 6 claims, $71K
Hurricane Ida: 5 claims, $165K

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Poydras 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. Bernard Parish.

Disasters that hit Poydras

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PoydrasDeclared for St. Bernard Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

34 households applied for aid $66K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Zeta

5 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

1 household applied for aid

2005

Hurricane Katrina

9 households applied for aid $138K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1 household applied for aid

St. Bernard Parish has had 35 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Poydras

Poydras and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

New Orleansmostly hurricanesVery high

Poydrasmostly hurricanesVery high

Violetmostly 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. Poydras covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Poydras’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Poydras. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Poydras total about $2.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.