Photo: Richard David Ramsey · CC BY-SA 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Kentwood than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kentwood gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (62%), then river and rain flooding (30%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2012.
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 Kentwood 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
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 Kentwood’s grade
Hurricanes are 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Kentwood, and Kentwood’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 30% (higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Kentwood’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.8M a year in losses across Kentwood: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Kentwood flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2012
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Kentwood, from FEMA’s records: 2.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 62% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Ida1 claim · $137K
- Hurricane Isaac1 claim · $100K
Kentwood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tangipahoa Parish.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Kentwood
Disasters that paid out in Kentwood itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Kentwood), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Hurricane Ida3,187 households applied for aid$6.9M aid approved1 flood claim paid for it, $137K
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding657 households applied for aid$1.3M aid approved$20K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding324 households applied for aid$310K aid approved$151K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Isaac890 households applied for aid$1.3M aid approved1 flood claim paid for it, $100K
- 2008Hurricane Ike464 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav863 households applied for aid$932K aid approved
Show all 9
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$473 aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina3,653 households applied for aid$5.5M aid approved$107K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs
- 2002Hurricane Lili$1K to the Town of Kentwood for repairs
Tangipahoa Parish has had 36 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Kentwood after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Kentwood archive →Get ready for what Kentwood 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.
- 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 Kentwood
Is Kentwood at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kentwood has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (62%) and river and rain flooding (30%). 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 Kentwood flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Kentwood since 2012, $237K in all, or 2.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 62% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (1).
Is Kentwood 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 Tangipahoa Parish, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 15.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Kentwood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Kentwood’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 Kentwood?
By FEMA money that reached Kentwood, Hurricane Ida (2021): 3,187 households applied for aid, $6.9M approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 1 paid, $137K.
Is Kentwood at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Kentwood’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Kentwood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Kentwood’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.