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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Montegut · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Montegut, led by hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Montegut gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (50%), then coastal flooding (38%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 50%Coastal flooding 38%River and rain flooding 11%

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
Hurricanes
50% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
10
of 38 declared for Terrebonne Parish

What stands out about Montegut’s natural hazards

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

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 37.9% of the damage it expects.Made safer with FEMA grants115 homes raised above flood level; 24 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared; 1 building retrofitted against wind with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Montegut faces

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

Hurricanes

50%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Coastal flooding

38%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

11%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind 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. 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 Montegut’s grade

Hurricanes are 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Montegut, and Montegut’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 38%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Montegut sits
Montegut
Least damageMiddleMost damage

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

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes50%Coastal flooding38%River and rain flooding11%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Montegut: $1.6M 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 1,436 aid registrations from Montegut addresses (the town has 489 homes).
Shared tract.All of Montegut’s 1,465 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 Montegut flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Terrebonne Parish.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
115homes raised above flood level
24flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1building retrofitted against wind
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Montegut

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

  1. 2026Tropical Storm Arthur59 households applied for aid$110K aid approved
  2. 2024Hurricane Francine348 households applied for aid$978K aid approved
  3. 2021Hurricane Ida1,436 households applied for aid$13.4M aid approved
  4. 2020Hurricane Zeta94 households applied for aid$208K aid approved
  5. 2012Hurricane Isaac213 households applied for aid$305K aid approved
  6. 2008Hurricane Ike500 households applied for aid$878K aid approved
Show all 10
  1. 2008Hurricane Gustav987 households applied for aid$2.1M aid approved
  2. 2005Hurricane Rita1,273 households applied for aid$3.4M aid approved
  3. 2005Hurricane Katrina997 households applied for aid$1.6M aid approved
  4. 2004Hurricane Ivan5 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MontegutTerrebonne Parish only

Terrebonne Parish has had 38 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Montegut archive →
Next door

Montegut and its neighbors

Montegut has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Chauvin: hazard risk D−ChauvinMontegut
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MontegutD−among the highest damagehurricanes0
ChauvinD−among the highest damagecoastal flooding—

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 Montegut 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 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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Montegut

Is Montegut at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Montegut has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (50%) and coastal flooding (38%). 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 Montegut 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 Terrebonne Parish, 32.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Montegut?

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

By FEMA money that reached Montegut, Hurricane Ida (2021): 1,436 households applied for aid, $13.4M approved.

Is Montegut at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Montegut’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Montegut.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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