Photo: Roy Luck · CC BY 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Taft
Taft isn’t graded for hazard risk: Taft has 112 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 85 claims here since 1978.
What Taft 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
Coastal 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.
Does Taft flood? Sometimes: 85 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Taft, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida8 claims · $391K
- Hurricane Francine8 claims · $245K
- The 2026-06-Arthur-TS5 claims · $134K
Taft 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.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Taft
Disasters that paid out in Taft itself (aid to households or repair grants to Taft), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Hurricane Ida1 households applied for aid$10K aid approved8 flood claims paid for it, $391K
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 Taft after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Taft archive →Taft and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. 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 Taft 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Taft
Does Taft flood?
Flood insurance has paid 85 claims in Taft since 1978, $3.0M in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (8).
Is Taft 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 Taft?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Taft’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 Taft?
By FEMA money that reached Taft, Hurricane Ida (2021): 1 households applied for aid, $10K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 8 paid, $391K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Taft.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Taft’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.