Storms, floods and disasters in Varnado
Varnado isn’t graded for hazard risk: Varnado has 425 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Varnado 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.
Does Varnado flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Varnado. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Varnado isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Washington Parish.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Varnado
Disasters that paid out in Varnado itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Varnado), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2005Hurricane Katrina32 households applied for aid$47K aid approved
Washington Parish has had 31 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Varnado after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Varnado archive →Get ready for what Varnado 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 Varnado
Is Varnado 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 Washington Parish, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Varnado?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Varnado’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 Varnado?
By FEMA money that reached Varnado, Hurricane Katrina (2005): 32 households applied for aid, $47K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Varnado.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Varnado’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.