Storms, floods and disasters in Calvin
Calvin isn’t graded for hazard risk: Calvin has 169 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1983.
What Calvin 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
Hurricanes
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 Calvin flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1983
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Calvin, from FEMA’s records.
Calvin isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Winn Parish.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Calvin
Disasters that paid out in Calvin itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Calvin), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Laura30 households applied for aid$29K aid approved
Winn Parish has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Calvin after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Calvin archive →Get ready for what Calvin 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.
- 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.
- 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 Calvin
Does Calvin flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Calvin since 1983, $56K in all.
Is Calvin 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 Winn Parish, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Calvin?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Calvin’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 Calvin?
By FEMA money that reached Calvin, Hurricane Laura (2020): 30 households applied for aid, $29K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Calvin.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Calvin’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.