Photo: 2C2KPhotography · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Boyce
Boyce isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Boyce yet. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1984.
What Boyce 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
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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 Boyce flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Boyce, from FEMA’s records.
Boyce isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rapides Parish.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Boyce
Disasters that paid out in Boyce itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Boyce), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms23 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Delta50 households applied for aid$84K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Laura1,149 households applied for aid$955K aid approved$184K to the Town of Boyce for repairs
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding10 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav378 households applied for aid$245K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Rita$19K to the Town of Boyce for repairs
Show all 7
- 2005Hurricane Katrina1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
Rapides Parish has had 35 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Rapides Parish, 2000–2023.
Old photos of Boyce after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Boyce archive →Get ready for what Boyce 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Boyce
Does Boyce flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Boyce since 1984, $246K in all.
Is Boyce 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 Rapides Parish, 5.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Boyce?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Boyce’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 Boyce?
By FEMA money that reached Boyce, Hurricane Laura (2020): 1,149 households applied for aid, $955K approved, and $184K to the Town of Boyce for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Boyce.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Boyce’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.