Natural hazards · Sorrento

Sorrento, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sorrento comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 145 claims here since 1979. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sorrento?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sorrento to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes67%Inland flooding11%Tornadoes9%Coastal flooding5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Sorrento faces

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

Hurricanes

67% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 48 years in the area

Coastal flooding

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% 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 Sorrento flood?

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

145paid claims since 1979

$9.9Mpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Mid-summer severe storms: 118 claims, $9.5M
Hurricane Isaac: 6 claims, $127K
Hurricane Ida: 3 claims, $90K

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

🏷️ 05% off flood insurance. Sorrento is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Ascension Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Sorrento

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SorrentoDeclared for Ascension Parish only

2024

Hurricane Francine

135 households applied for aid $224K aid approved $15K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2021

Hurricane Ida

821 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $260K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2021

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid

2019

Hurricane Barry

$11K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

537 households applied for aid $1.9M aid approved $416K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2012

Hurricane Isaac

176 households applied for aid $110K aid approved $7K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

300 households applied for aid $282K aid approved $76K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

68 households applied for aid $58K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

266 households applied for aid $236K aid approved $31K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

$3K to the Town of Sorrento for repairs

Ascension Parish has had 44 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. Sorrento 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 Sorrento’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sorrento. 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.