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Lafayette Parish, LA flood insurance claims history

6,579 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Lafayette Parish since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $266.7M on them. The worst year was 2016 with 2,592 claims. Lafayette Parish ranks #13 of 64 in Louisiana by claim count.

At a glance

  • 40% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 38% of all claims trace to a single event — Mid-summer severe storms (2016), which paid $191.9M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 81% of the 64 Louisiana parishes with any claims on file — and more than all 5 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 70508 has the most claims in the county (1,196, 18%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
6,579
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$266.7M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
85%
5,625 received a payment
Average payout
$47K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
838
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-03-10
data as of 2026-09-07

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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 2,592 claims in 2016
 
 
'80
 
 
 
 
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Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Lafayette Parish

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Mid-summer severe storms2,480$191.9M$77K2016
Flooding (FEMA general label)441$5.1M$12K1993
Flooding (FEMA general label)383$2.7M$7K1980
Tropical Storm Allison198$4.5M$23K2001
2021 Mid-Spring Severe Storms157$6.2M$39K2021
Flooding (FEMA general label)112$739K$7K1998
Hurricane Lili70$211K$3K2002
Hurricane Rita63$911K$14K2005
Hurricane Laura56$1.8M$32K2020
Flooding (FEMA general label)49$104K$2K1982
Flooding (FEMA general label)40$283K$7K1984
Hurricane Gustav26$75K$3K2008

62% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

High-risk A zones: 3,545 (54%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 33 (1%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 2,432 (37%)Zone not recorded: 569 (9%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)3,545$156.6M$44K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)33$399K$12K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)2,432$106.5M$44K
Zone not recorded569$3.1M$5K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt4,22864%
Stream, river or lake overflow98015%
Other causes82313%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)4226%
Alluvial fan overflow761%
Not recorded391%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Lafayette Parish

30 ZIP codes in Lafayette Parish have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Lafayette Parish.

705081,196$82.2M18%432025
705061,174$42.3M18%442025
70520761$17.8M12%352025
70592741$38.1M11%342025
70503630$40.1M10%392024
70507516$6.9M8%352025
70501412$8.8M6%412026
70583405$6.5M6%342024
70518320$8.9M5%282025
70529229$8.7M3%262025
7055858$1.2M1%272020
7057838$1.9M1%42020
7055525$1.9M0%52016
19$108K0%71991
7050213$165K0%62008
7050511$467K0%72016
705177$195K0%32016
705096$82K0%42016
705253$39K0%22016
711062$38K0%21998
705042$3K0%21993
705002$41K0%22011
705932$10K0%11980
70506-60271$19K0%12024
700001$2K0%11993
700781$00%11985
704451$111K0%11995
70508-33371$280K0%12025
700721$00%11988
703921$00%11992

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Lafayette Parish flood?

August accounts for the most flood losses (2,669 claims, 41%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January62610%
February341%
March3626%
April3165%
May93514%
June5078%
July1703%
August2,66941%
September1773%
October3065%
November1472%
December3305%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20261$0
2025190$16.3M
202430$1.1M
20239$79K
202210$142K
2021177$6.6M
202086$2.0M
2019173$5.4M
20187$7K
2017155$4.1M
20162,592$194.6M
201516$59K
201453$924K
201329$229K
2012289$10.1M
20114$18K
201011$98K
200910$13K
200886$889K
20076$6K
200657$864K
200589$1.4M
2004146$1.9M
20037$9K
2002114$337K
2001232$4.7M
20008$4K
199936$207K
1998134$929K
199713$81K
199612$67K
1995262$2.7M
199410$25K
1993464$5.2M
199228$133K
199192$500K
19907$15K
1989114$802K
198816$51K
19877$30K
19869$17K
198546$226K
198449$304K
198316$54K
198265$131K
198122$46K
1980413$2.8M
1979128$316K
197849$94K

Neighboring parishes and counties

Lafayette Parish borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Lafayette Parish (this page)6,579$266.7M40%
Vermilion Parish4,799$187.1M14%
Iberia Parish2,891$88.9M33%
Acadia Parish1,481$37.0M33%
St. Martin Parish1,466$28.2M34%
St. Landry Parish976$22.2M41%

All 64 Louisiana parishes → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Lafayette Parish

Has Lafayette Parish flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-03-10, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (838 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 40% of Lafayette Parish’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 22055, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.