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Edgard Louisiana CathedralPhoto: Clem · CC BY-SA 2.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Edgard · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Edgard than in 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Edgard gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (73%), then river and rain flooding (16%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 73%River and rain flooding 16%Coastal flooding 7%

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

more than 96%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in Louisiana · higher than 96% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
73% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 34 declared for St. John the Baptist Parish
By hazard

What Edgard faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

73%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

16%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Coastal flooding

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 23% of Edgard’s expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Edgard’s grade

Hurricanes are 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Edgard, and Edgard’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 7%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Edgard sits
Edgard
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Edgard’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes73%River and rain flooding16%Coastal flooding7%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Edgard: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Ida in 2021, FEMA took 985 aid registrations from Edgard addresses (the town has 876 homes).
Shared tract.All of Edgard’s 1,948 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Wallace CDP (755 residents) and Pleasure Bend CDP (212 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Edgard flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Edgard. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Edgard 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. John the Baptist Parish.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Edgard

Disasters that paid out in Edgard itself (aid to households or repair grants to Edgard), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Francine352 households applied for aid$937K aid approved
  2. 2021Hurricane Ida985 households applied for aid$6.2M aid approved
  3. 2012Hurricane Isaac518 households applied for aid$567K aid approved
  4. 2008Hurricane Gustav737 households applied for aid$722K aid approved
  5. 2005Hurricane Rita1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  6. 2005Hurricane Katrina1,325 households applied for aid$2.8M aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in EdgardSt. John the Baptist Parish only

St. John the Baptist Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.

Were you here?

Old photos of Edgard after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Edgard archive →
Next door

Edgard and its neighbors

Edgard is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Wallace: not gradedLaplace: hazard risk D−Reserve: hazard risk D−Garyville: hazard risk D−WallaceLaplaceReserveGaryvilleEdgard
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
GaryvilleD−more damage than 96%hurricanes54
ReserveD−more damage than 96%hurricanes918
EdgardD−more damage than 96%hurricanes0
LaplaceD−more damage than 98%hurricanes5,244
Wallace—791 residents; we grade 1,000+

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Edgard faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the tide surges
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Edgard

Is Edgard at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Edgard has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (73%) and river and rain flooding (16%). 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 Edgard 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. John the Baptist Parish, 80% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 34.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Edgard?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Edgard’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 Edgard?

By FEMA money that reached Edgard, Hurricane Ida (2021): 985 households applied for aid, $6.2M approved.

Is Edgard at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Edgard’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Edgard.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Edgard’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.