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DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Ama · FEMA

FEMA puts Ama’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 95% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ama gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (85%), then river and rain flooding (12%). Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1989.

Hurricanes 85%River and rain flooding 12%Tornadoes 2%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 95%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in Louisiana · higher than 95% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
85% of expected building damage
Flood claims
20
paid since 1989 · $419K
Disasters paid out here
6
of 39 declared for St. Charles Parish

What stands out about Ama’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Hurricanes: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for hurricanes here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 85.2% of the damage it expects.Moved out of harm’s way4 homes raised above flood level with FEMA grants.Remembers 20216 flood claims were paid for 2021 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Ama faces

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

Hurricanes

85%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

12%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts tornadoes at 10% of Ama’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (2.1%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Ama’s grade

Hurricanes are 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ama, and Ama’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 12% (lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Ama sits
Ama
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Ama’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes85%River and rain flooding12%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $759K a year in losses across Ama: $563K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Ida in 2021, FEMA took 591 aid registrations from Ama addresses (the town has 600 homes) and flood insurance paid 6 claims for $244K.
Shared tract.All of Ama’s 1,290 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Ama flood? Sometimes: 20 flood claims since 1989

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ama, from FEMA’s records: 33.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1989: 2 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 5 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 1 claim2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 1 claim2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 6 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 2 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 2 claims198919952021
19892026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Ida6 claims · $244K
  • The 2026-06-Arthur-TS2 claims · $16K
  • Hurricane Francine2 claims · $29K
20
paid claims since 1989
$419K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$21K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Ama 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. Charles Parish.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
4homes raised above flood level
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ama

Disasters that paid out in Ama itself (aid to households or repair grants to Ama), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Francine52 households applied for aid$105K aid approved2 flood claims paid for it, $29K
  2. 2021Hurricane Ida591 households applied for aid$1.7M aid approved6 flood claims paid for it, $244K
  3. 2012Hurricane Isaac128 households applied for aid$131K aid approved
  4. 2008Hurricane Gustav247 households applied for aid$80K aid approved
  5. 2005Hurricane Katrina671 households applied for aid$1.5M aid approved1 flood claim paid for it, $1K
  6. 2004Hurricane Ivan6 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AmaSt. Charles Parish only

St. Charles Parish has had 39 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.

Were you here?

Old photos of Ama after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Ama archive →
Next door

Ama and its neighbors

Ama is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

St. Rose: hazard risk DLuling: hazard risk D−St. RoseLulingAma
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
St. RoseDmore damage than 95%hurricanes814
AmaDmore damage than 95%hurricanes20
LulingD−among the highest damagecoastal flooding220

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Ama faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Ama

Is Ama at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ama has higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (85%) and river and rain flooding (12%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Ama flood?

Flood insurance has paid 20 claims in Ama since 1989, $419K in all, or 33.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (6).

Is Ama in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In St. Charles Parish, 55.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Ama?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ama’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Ama?

By FEMA money that reached Ama, Hurricane Ida (2021): 591 households applied for aid, $1.7M approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 6 paid, $244K.

Is Ama at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Ama’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ama.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ama’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.