Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Lafitte
Lafitte isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lafitte has 488 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Lafitte faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
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.
Does Lafitte flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lafitte. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lafitte 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.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lafitte
Disasters that paid out in Lafitte itself (aid to households or repair grants to Lafitte), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Francine17 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
- 2021Hurricane Ida1,233 households applied for aid$5.8M aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Zeta65 households applied for aid$71K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac891 households applied for aid$1.8M aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Ike850 households applied for aid$2.9M aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav658 households applied for aid$450K aid approved
Show all 9
- 2005Hurricane Rita1,061 households applied for aid$3.5M aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina2,013 households applied for aid$7.6M aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Ivan4 households applied for aid$298 aid approved
Jefferson Parish has had 37 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Lafitte after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lafitte archive →Lafitte and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Lafitte | D−among the highest damage | hurricanes | 675 |
| Barataria | — | 544 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.
Get ready for what Lafitte 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.
- 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.
- 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 Lafitte
Is Lafitte 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 Lafitte?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lafitte’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 Lafitte?
By FEMA money that reached Lafitte, Hurricane Katrina (2005): 2,013 households applied for aid, $7.6M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lafitte.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lafitte’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.