Oaklawn Manor · Photo: Phrangck15 · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Charenton than in 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Charenton gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (70%), then river and rain flooding (19%). 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 Charenton faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal 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.
What’s behind Charenton’s grade
Hurricanes are 70% of the building damage FEMA expects in Charenton, and Charenton’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 8%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Charenton’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Charenton: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Charenton flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Charenton. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Charenton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: St. Mary Parish.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Charenton
Disasters that paid out in Charenton itself (aid to households or repair grants to Charenton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Francine60 households applied for aid$225K aid approved
- 2021Hurricane Ida49 households applied for aid$65K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac54 households applied for aid$53K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Ike28 households applied for aid$63K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav183 households applied for aid$349K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Rita269 households applied for aid$203K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2005Hurricane Katrina43 households applied for aid$24K aid approved
St. Mary Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Charenton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Charenton archive →Charenton and its neighbors
Charenton is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin | Dmore damage than 95% | hurricanes | 37 |
| Charenton | D−more damage than 96% | hurricanes | 0 |
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 Charenton 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Charenton
Is Charenton at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Charenton has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (70%) and river and rain flooding (19%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Charenton 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 St. Mary Parish, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 12.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Charenton?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Charenton’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 Charenton?
By FEMA money that reached Charenton, Hurricane Gustav (2008): 183 households applied for aid, $349K approved.
Is Charenton at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (70%), and Charenton’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Charenton.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Charenton’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.