Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Barataria
Barataria isn’t graded for hazard risk: Barataria has 544 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Barataria faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
River and rain flooding
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.
Does Barataria flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Barataria. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Barataria isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson Parish.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Barataria
Disasters that paid out in Barataria itself (aid to households or repair grants to Barataria), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Francine8 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2021Hurricane Ida515 households applied for aid$2.6M aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Zeta29 households applied for aid$36K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac354 households applied for aid$412K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Ike301 households applied for aid$835K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav274 households applied for aid$135K aid approved
Show all 9
- 2005Hurricane Rita345 households applied for aid$932K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina778 households applied for aid$3.0M aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Ivan2 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Jefferson Parish has had 37 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Barataria after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Barataria archive →Barataria and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Lafitte | D−among the highest damage | hurricanes | 675 |
| Lafitte | — | 488 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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.
Get ready for what Barataria faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Barataria
Is Barataria 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 Jefferson Parish, 64.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Barataria?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Barataria’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 Barataria?
By FEMA money that reached Barataria, Hurricane Katrina (2005): 778 households applied for aid, $3.0M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Barataria.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Barataria’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.