Storms, floods and disasters in Norwood
Norwood isn’t graded for hazard risk: Norwood has 340 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Norwood faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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 Norwood flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Norwood. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Norwood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: East Feliciana Parish.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Norwood
Disasters that paid out in Norwood itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Norwood), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Hurricane Ida165 households applied for aid$203K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding28 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac19 households applied for aid$8K aid approved$1K to the Village of Norwood for repairs
- 2008Hurricane Gustav104 households applied for aid$144K aid approved$59K to the Village of Norwood for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Katrina174 households applied for aid$183K aid approved$5K to the Village of Norwood for repairs
East Feliciana Parish has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Norwood after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Norwood archive →Get ready for what Norwood faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Norwood
Is Norwood 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 East Feliciana Parish, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Norwood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Norwood’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 Norwood?
By FEMA money that reached Norwood, Hurricane Ida (2021): 165 households applied for aid, $203K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Norwood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Norwood’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.