More hazard damage per building is expected in Ossun than in 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ossun gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (64%), then river and rain flooding (33%). 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 Ossun 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 Ossun’s grade
Hurricanes are 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ossun, and Ossun’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 33% (higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Ossun’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Ossun: $878K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ossun flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ossun. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ossun isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lafayette Parish.The storms Ossun remembers
None of the 34 disasters declared for Lafayette Parish shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ossun itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Lafayette Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Get ready for what Ossun 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 Ossun
Is Ossun at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ossun has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (64%) and river and rain flooding (33%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Ossun 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 Lafayette Parish, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 19.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ossun?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ossun’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Ossun at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Ossun’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ossun.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ossun’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.