Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0For ice storms, Bernice’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bernice gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Bernice faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Ice storms
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.
What’s behind Bernice’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bernice, and Bernice’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 8%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bernice’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $692K a year in losses across Bernice: $477K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bernice flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bernice. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bernice isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Union Parish.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bernice
Disasters that paid out in Bernice itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Bernice), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms6 households applied for aid$21K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Laura294 households applied for aid$129K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding99 households applied for aid$496K aid approved$8K to the Town of Bernice for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$6K to the Town of Bernice for repairs
- 2008Hurricane Gustav2 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
Union Parish has had 28 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms.
Old photos of Bernice after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bernice archive →Get ready for what Bernice faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Bernice
Is Bernice at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bernice has higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and tornadoes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bernice 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 Union Parish, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bernice?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bernice’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 Bernice?
By FEMA money that reached Bernice, Severe Storms and Flooding (2016): 99 households applied for aid, $496K approved, and $8K to the Town of Bernice for repairs.
Is Bernice at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Bernice’s rate for it is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bernice.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bernice’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.