FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Fifth Ward as in the typical U.S. town, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fifth Ward gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (45%), then river and rain flooding (40%). 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 Fifth Ward 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
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.
What’s behind Fifth Ward’s grade
Hurricanes are 45% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fifth Ward, and Fifth Ward’s rate of hurricanes damage is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 40% (lower than 79% of U.S. census tracts).
B− higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fifth Ward’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $404K a year in losses across Fifth Ward: $166K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fifth Ward flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fifth Ward. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Fifth Ward isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Avoyelles Parish.The storms Fifth Ward remembers
None of the 32 disasters declared for Avoyelles Parish shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fifth Ward itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Avoyelles Parish has had 32 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Get ready for what Fifth Ward 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.
- 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 Fifth Ward
Is Fifth Ward at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fifth Ward has higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (45%) and river and rain flooding (40%). 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 Fifth Ward 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 Avoyelles Parish, 4.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Fifth Ward?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fifth Ward’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Fifth Ward at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (45%), and Fifth Ward’s rate for it is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fifth Ward.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fifth Ward’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.