Natural hazards · Reserve

Reserve, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Reserve comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 918 claims here since 1980. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Reserve?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Reserve to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes61%Inland flooding14%Tornadoes9%Coastal flooding6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Reserve faces

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

Hurricanes

61% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

14% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Coastal flooding

6% of expected damage

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

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 Reserve flood?

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

918paid claims since 1980

$58.1Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19802026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isaac: 343 claims, $26.6M
Hurricane Ida: 292 claims, $22.6M
Hurricane Francine: 51 claims, $3.6M

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Reserve 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. John the Baptist Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Reserve

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ReserveDeclared for St. John the Baptist Parish only

2024

Hurricane Francine

603 households applied for aid $2.2M aid approved

2021

Hurricane Ida

2,740 households applied for aid $9.8M aid approved

2012

Hurricane Isaac

1,626 households applied for aid $2.6M aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

1,544 households applied for aid $1.2M aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

1 household applied for aid

2005

Hurricane Katrina

3,002 households applied for aid $4.6M aid approved

St. John the Baptist Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Reserve

Reserve and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Reservemostly hurricanesVery high

Laplacemostly hurricanesVery high

Edgardmostly hurricanesVery high

Garyvillemostly 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. Reserve covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Reserve’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Reserve. 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 Reserve total about $12.2M 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.