Photo: Timothy Holdiness · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Swartz’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Swartz gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns, #9 of 162 in Louisiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%). 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 Swartz 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
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Ice storms
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 Swartz’s grade
River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Swartz, and Swartz’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 6%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
A #9 of 162 in Louisiana; lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Swartz’s residents live in 3 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, Swartz has less expected damage per building than 95% of Louisiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Swartz: $504K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Swartz flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Swartz. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Swartz isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Ouachita Parish.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Swartz
Disasters that paid out in Swartz itself (aid to households or repair grants to Swartz), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Laura2 households applied for aid$449 aid approved
Ouachita Parish has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Swartz after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Swartz archive →Get ready for what Swartz 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Swartz
Is Swartz at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Swartz has lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #9 of 162 in Louisiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and tornadoes (7%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Swartz 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 Ouachita Parish, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 7.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Swartz?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Swartz’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 Swartz?
By FEMA money that reached Swartz, Hurricane Laura (2020): 2 households applied for aid, $449 approved.
Is Swartz at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Swartz’s rate for it is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Swartz.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Swartz’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.