Less hazard damage per building is expected in Brownsville than in 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brownsville gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns, #20 of 162 in Louisiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (68%). 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 Brownsville 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
Earthquakes
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 Brownsville’s grade
River and rain flooding is 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brownsville, and Brownsville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 6%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #20 of 162 in Louisiana; lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Brownsville’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Louisiana town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Brownsville has less expected damage per building than 88% of Louisiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.8M a year in losses across Brownsville: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brownsville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Brownsville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Brownsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Ouachita Parish.The storms Brownsville remembers
None of the 34 disasters declared for Ouachita Parish shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Brownsville itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Ouachita Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Brownsville and its neighbors
Brownsville is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Monroe | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 649 |
| Brownsville | B+less damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Bawcomville | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 32 |
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 Brownsville 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Brownsville
Is Brownsville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brownsville has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #20 of 162 in Louisiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (68%) and earthquakes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Brownsville 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 Ouachita Parish, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 7.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brownsville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brownsville’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Brownsville at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Brownsville’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brownsville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brownsville’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.