Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Reserve than in 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Reserve gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, #109 of 162 in Louisiana. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (77%), then river and rain flooding (15%). Flood insurance has paid 918 claims here since 1980.
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 stands out about Reserve’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Reserve 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 Reserve’s grade
Hurricanes are 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Reserve, and Reserve’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 4%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #109 of 162 in Louisiana; higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Reserve’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Louisiana town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Reserve has more expected damage per building than 67% of Louisiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $8.7M a year in losses across Reserve: $7.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Reserve flood? Yes: 918 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Reserve, from FEMA’s records: 237.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Isaac343 claims · $26.6M
- Hurricane Ida292 claims · $22.6M
- Hurricane Francine51 claims · $3.6M
Reserve 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. John the Baptist Parish.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Reserve
Disasters that paid out in Reserve itself (aid to households or repair grants to Reserve), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Francine603 households applied for aid$2.2M aid approved51 flood claims paid for it, $3.6M
- 2021Hurricane Ida2,740 households applied for aid$9.8M aid approved292 flood claims paid for it, $22.6M
- 2012Hurricane Isaac1,626 households applied for aid$2.6M aid approved343 flood claims paid for it, $26.6M
- 2008Hurricane Gustav1,544 households applied for aid$1.2M aid approved23 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Hurricane Katrina3,002 households applied for aid$4.6M aid approved13 flood claims paid that year
St. John the Baptist Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Reserve after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Reserve archive →Reserve and its neighbors
Reserve is 2nd of the 4 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 Reserve 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 Reserve
Is Reserve at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Reserve has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #109 of 162 in Louisiana. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (77%) and river and rain flooding (15%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Reserve flood?
Flood insurance has paid 918 claims in Reserve since 1980, $58.1M in all, or 237.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Isaac (343).
Is Reserve 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. John the Baptist Parish, 80% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 34.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Reserve?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Reserve’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 Reserve?
By FEMA money that reached Reserve, Hurricane Ida (2021): 2,740 households applied for aid, $9.8M approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Isaac: 343 paid, $26.6M.
Is Reserve at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Reserve’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Reserve.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Reserve’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.