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Rapides Parish, LA flood insurance claims history

4,231 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Rapides Parish since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $68.3M on them. The worst year was 2008 with 566 claims. Rapides Parish ranks #18 of 64 in Louisiana by claim count.

At a glance

  • 27% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 11% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Gustav (2008), which paid $16.4M 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 73% of the 64 Louisiana parishes with any claims on file — and more than all 7 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 71328 has the most claims in the county (1,102, 26%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
4,231
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$68.3M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
87%
3,695 received a payment
Average payout
$18K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
656
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-06-22
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: 566 claims in 2008
 
 
'80
 
 
 
 
'85
 
 
 
 
'90
 
 
 
 
'95
 
 
 
 
'00
 
 
 
 
'05
 
 
 
 
'10
 
 
 
 
'15
 
 
 
 
'20
 
 
 
 
'25
 

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 Rapides Parish

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Gustav485$16.4M$34K2008
Flooding (FEMA general label)355$3.7M$11K1987
Hurricane Delta273$12.3M$45K2020
Flooding (FEMA general label)216$1.4M$7K1982
Flooding (FEMA general label)151$1.5M$10K1991
Flooding (FEMA general label)70$535K$8K1989
Mid-spring storms45$719K$16K2011
Flooding (FEMA general label)43$101K$2K1983
Flooding (FEMA general label)39$154K$4K1979
Hurricane Lili38$279K$7K2002
Late winter severe storms35$1.7M$49K2016
Hurricane Laura17$106K$6K2020

42% 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: 2,773 (66%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 0 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 1,008 (24%)Zone not recorded: 450 (11%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)2,773$47.1M$17K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)1,008$19.3M$19K
Zone not recorded450$1.9M$4K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt2,34655%
Stream, river or lake overflow1,12126%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)49112%
Other causes2315%
Not recorded271%
Alluvial fan overflow140%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Rapides Parish

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

713281,102$11.8M26%352025
71301829$15.5M20%342024
71302680$12.1M16%392026
71360581$9.6M14%392026
71303527$9.6M12%362025
7148595$3.6M2%162024
7134680$1.7M2%252026
7140554$1.3M1%172022
54$278K1%91991
7140939$532K1%192020
7132221$105K0%111993
7136120$187K0%122008
7143319$203K0%92020
7132516$125K0%102020
7130915$100K0%91999
7133014$116K0%102001
7147713$265K0%82016
7134810$88K0%62016
714678$116K0%62016
713076$16K0%41989
713236$19K0%41983
707756$67K0%52005
714304$370K0%22020
714474$24K0%32017
713664$26K0%41984
714634$60K0%21989
713153$2K0%31991
714513$20K0%31999
713402$00%11983
713062$44K0%21995
714382$60K0%22017
713432$24K0%12001
714481$220K0%12008
713591$3K0%11987
714231$15K0%11989
713261$00%11997
714661$5K0%12007
713511$18K0%12026

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When does Rapides Parish flood?

April accounts for the most flood losses (739 claims, 17%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January2315%
February1744%
March46311%
April73917%
May44310%
June3238%
July1704%
August501%
September56313%
October3709%
November40710%
December2987%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
202612$139K
20252$35K
202412$104K
20232$0
20222$5K
202115$304K
2020298$12.6M
201989$2.4M
201811$279K
2017213$7.7M
201659$2.3M
2015123$2.6M
20145$44K
201316$126K
201225$314K
201168$1.0M
20105$63K
200934$453K
2008566$17.5M
20076$90K
20067$181K
200530$201K
20049$107K
200311$94K
200289$741K
2001180$2.3M
20007$237K
199970$766K
199845$232K
1997176$2.4M
19962$34K
199580$495K
1994128$760K
199335$153K
199221$65K
1991290$2.5M
1990157$901K
1989150$851K
198811$7K
1987372$3.8M
19861$5K
198521$50K
1984148$598K
1983136$314K
1982233$1.5M
19816$5K
198065$196K
1979186$892K
19782$3K

Neighboring parishes and counties

Rapides Parish borders 7 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Rapides Parish (this page)4,231$68.3M27%
Avoyelles Parish1,652$18.1M19%
Natchitoches Parish541$9.9M24%
Allen Parish442$9.5M34%
Grant Parish438$5.3M16%
Vernon Parish338$9.4M29%
Evangeline Parish286$6.4M41%
LaSalle Parish271$3.4M10%

All 64 Louisiana parishes → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Rapides Parish

Has Rapides Parish flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-06-22, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (656 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 27% of Rapides 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 22079, 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.