Natural hazards · Start

Start, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Start comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Start?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Start to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding34%Tornadoes20%Heat waves10%Strong wind9%Drought8%Cold waves7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Start faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 29 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Start flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Start.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Richland Parish.

Disasters that hit Start

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into StartDeclared for Richland Parish only

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $41K aid approved

2008

Hurricane Gustav

3 households applied for aid

2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Richland 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. Start 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 Start’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Start. 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.

Start, LA natural hazards

How exposed is Start?

What Start faces

Inland flooding

Tornadoes

Heat waves

Strong wind

Drought

Cold waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Start flood?

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms and Flooding

Hurricane Gustav

Severe Storms and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby