Natural hazards · Sunset

Sunset, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sunset comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 25 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 Sunset?

71
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sunset to be higher than in 71% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding44%Hurricanes19%Tornadoes14%Cold waves13%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Sunset faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

19% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Sunset flood?

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

25paid claims since 1979
$1.4Mpaid to owners
5homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Gustav: 1 claim, $865
  • Mid-summer severe storms: 1 claim, $4K

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
No community discount. Sunset 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. Landry Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2buildings retrofitted against wind
Disasters that hit Sunset

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SunsetDeclared for St. Landry Parish only
2026

Tropical Storm Arthur

31 households applied for aid $21K aid approved
2020

Hurricane Delta

183 households applied for aid $162K aid approved
2020

Hurricane Laura

135 households applied for aid $199K aid approved
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

120 households applied for aid $142K aid approved
2008

Hurricane Gustav

580 households applied for aid $212K aid approved $98K to the Town of Sunset for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $29K aid approved
2005

Hurricane Rita

478 households applied for aid $297K aid approved $9K to the Town of Sunset for repairs
2005

Hurricane Katrina

$23K to the Town of Sunset for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

61 households applied for aid $53K aid approved
2002

Hurricane Lili

$37K to the Town of Sunset for repairs
St. Landry Parish has had 34 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. Sunset 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 Sunset’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sunset. 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.

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