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Grand Isle ChurchPhoto: Karen Apricot · CC BY-SA 2.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Grand Isle · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Grand Isle, mostly from coastal flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grand Isle gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is coastal flooding (68%), then hurricanes (28%). Flood insurance has paid 3,679 claims here since 1978.

Coastal flooding 68%Hurricanes 28%River and rain flooding 3%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in Louisiana · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Coastal flooding
68% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3,679
paid since 1978 · $73.9M
Flooded more than once
444
properties · 122 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
18
of 37 declared for Jefferson Parish

What stands out about Grand Isle’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

3,679 paid flood claims since 1978$73.9M in all; 444 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 100% of U.S. towns.Coastal flooding: the top 1% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts; it is 68.0% of the damage it expects.Moved out of harm’s way116 homes raised above flood level with FEMA grants.Remembers 2005997 flood claims were paid for 2005 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Grand Isle faces

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

Coastal flooding

68%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

Hurricanes

28%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 River and rain flooding Hail Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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. 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 Grand Isle’s grade

Coastal flooding is 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Grand Isle, and Grand Isle’s rate of coastal flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Hurricanes add 28%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Grand Isle sits
Grand Isle
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Coastal flooding68%Hurricanes28%River and rain flooding3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $9.8M a year in losses across Grand Isle: $9.3M 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 748 aid registrations from Grand Isle addresses (the town has 1,562 homes) and flood insurance paid 350 claims for $11.9M.
Shared tract.All of Grand Isle’s 1,005 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Grand Isle flood? Yes: 3,679 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Grand Isle, from FEMA’s records: 2,355.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 100% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 3 claims1979: 145 claims1980: 10 claims1981: 3 claims1982: 3 claims1983: 81 claims1984: 9 claims1985: 485 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 1 claim1988: 1 claim1989: 1 claim1990: 1 claim1991: 25 claims1992: 140 claims1993: 32 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 19 claims1996: 26 claims1997: 282 claims1998: 34 claims1999: 11 claims2000: 1 claim2001: 1 claim2002: 236 claims2003: 9 claims2004: 56 claims2005: 997 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 473 claims2009: 2 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 9 claims2012: 157 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 1 claim2015: 2 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 2 claims2018: 7 claims2019: 6 claims2020: 46 claims2021: 360 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198520052008
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Katrina966 claims · $36.7M
  • Hurricane Juan472 claims · $3.4M
  • Hurricane Ida350 claims · $11.9M
3,679
paid claims since 1978
$73.9M
paid to owners
444
homes flooded more than once
$20K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
Each house = 8 homesFEMA “severe repetitive loss” (122)Flooded 2+ times
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Grand Isle isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Jefferson Parish.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
116homes raised above flood level
Disasters

18 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Grand Isle

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

  1. 2024Hurricane Francine3 households applied for aid$80K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  2. 2021Hurricane Ida748 households applied for aid$5.5M aid approved$24.0M to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs350 flood claims paid for it, $11.9M
  3. 2020Hurricane Zeta21 households applied for aid$9K aid approved$371K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  4. 2020Hurricane Delta$15K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  5. 2020Hurricane Sally$18K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  6. 2020Hurricane Laura$15K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
Show all 18
  1. 2019Hurricane Barry$36K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs6 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2017Tropical Storm Nate$153K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2012Hurricane Isaac289 households applied for aid$287K aid approved$83K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs157 flood claims paid that year
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Lee$19K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs9 flood claims paid that year
  5. 2008Hurricane Ike214 households applied for aid$376K aid approved$2.6M to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  6. 2008Hurricane Gustav482 households applied for aid$641K aid approved$2.5M to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs316 flood claims paid for it, $4.6M
  7. 2005Hurricane Rita241 households applied for aid$323K aid approved$33K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  8. 2005Hurricane Katrina1,266 households applied for aid$6.9M aid approved$7.4M to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs966 flood claims paid for it, $36.7M
  9. 2004Hurricane Ivan11 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$126K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs56 flood claims paid that year
  10. 2002Hurricane Lili$143K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs
  11. 2002Tropical Storm Isidore$273K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs165 flood claims paid for it, $2.2M
  12. 2001Tropical Storm Allison$17K to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Grand IsleJefferson Parish only

Jefferson Parish has had 37 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Grand Isle archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Grand Isle faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Grand Isle

Is Grand Isle at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grand Isle has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is coastal flooding (68%) and hurricanes (28%). 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.

Does Grand Isle flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3,679 claims in Grand Isle since 1978, $73.9M in all, or 2,355.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 100% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 444 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Katrina (966).

Is Grand Isle 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 Jefferson Parish, 64.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Grand Isle?

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

By FEMA money that reached Grand Isle, Hurricane Ida (2021): 748 households applied for aid, $5.5M approved, and $24.0M to the Town of Grand Isle for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Katrina: 966 paid, $36.7M.

Is Grand Isle at risk from coastal flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Grand Isle’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Grand Isle.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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