FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Montz than in 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Montz gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (61%), then river and rain flooding (36%). 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 Montz 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 Montz’s grade
Hurricanes are 61% of the building damage FEMA expects in Montz, and Montz’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 36% (higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts).
D− higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Montz’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Montz: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Montz flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Montz. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Montz isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: St. Charles Parish.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Montz
Disasters that paid out in Montz itself (aid to households or repair grants to Montz), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Francine27 households applied for aid$54K aid approved
- 2021Hurricane Ida513 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac134 households applied for aid$55K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav229 households applied for aid$95K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina311 households applied for aid$395K aid approved
St. Charles Parish has had 39 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Montz after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Montz archive →Montz and its neighbors
Montz is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Montz 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 Montz
Is Montz at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Montz has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (61%) and river and rain flooding (36%). 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 Montz 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 St. Charles Parish, 55.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Montz?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Montz’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 Montz?
By FEMA money that reached Montz, Hurricane Ida (2021): 513 households applied for aid, $1.1M approved.
Is Montz at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (61%), and Montz’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Montz.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Montz’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.