Natural hazards · Ville Platte

Ville Platte, LA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ville Platte comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 72 claims here since 1985. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ville Platte?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ville Platte to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes26%Inland flooding24%Cold waves22%Tornadoes18%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Ville Platte faces

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

Hurricanes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ville Platte flood?

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

72paid claims since 1985

$1.9Mpaid to owners

15homes flooded more than once

19852026

Biggest named events

Mid-summer severe storms: 31 claims, $1.0M
Tropical Storm Barry: 9 claims, $139K
Hurricane Juan: 1 claim, $30K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Evangeline Parish.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Ville Platte

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Ville Platte itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Ville Platte.

Brought FEMA money into Ville PlatteDeclared for Evangeline Parish only

2021

Hurricane Ida

2 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Delta

2 households applied for aid

2020

Hurricane Laura

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

1,050 households applied for aid $2.2M aid approved $3K to the City of Ville Platte for repairs

2012

Hurricane Isaac

$14K to the City of Ville Platte for repairs

2008

Hurricane Gustav

2,658 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $120K to the City of Ville Platte for repairs

2005

Hurricane Rita

2,262 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved $31K to the City of Ville Platte for repairs

2005

Hurricane Katrina

$28K to the City of Ville Platte for repairs

2002

Hurricane Lili

$61K to the City of Ville Platte for repairs

Evangeline Parish has had 24 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. Ville Platte 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 Ville Platte’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ville Platte. 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.