Natural hazards · Ridgecrest

Ridgecrest, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgecrest comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2001. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ridgecrest?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgecrest to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding28%Heat waves15%Cold waves15%Tornadoes14%Hurricanes9%Strong wind6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Ridgecrest faces

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 48 years in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ridgecrest flood?

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

6paid claims since 2001

$258Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20012026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Allison: 1 claim, $4K
Hurricane Katrina: 1 claim, $149K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ridgecrest isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Concordia Parish.

Disasters that hit Ridgecrest

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgecrestDeclared for Concordia Parish only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

3 households applied for aid $17K to the Town of Ridgecrest for repairs

2011

Flooding

$8K to the Town of Ridgecrest for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

31 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

Concordia Parish has had 26 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. Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ridgecrest. 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.