Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Wisner
Wisner isn’t graded for hazard risk: Wisner has 965 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1983.
What Wisner 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
Hurricanes
Hail
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 Wisner flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1983
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wisner, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Gustav1 claim · $49K
Wisner isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Franklin Parish.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wisner
Disasters that paid out in Wisner itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Wisner), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms9 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding38 households applied for aid$30K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Gustav148 households applied for aid$557K aid approved1 flood claim paid for it, $49K
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
Franklin Parish has had 33 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods.
Old photos of Wisner after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wisner archive →Get ready for what Wisner 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.
- 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Wisner
Does Wisner flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Wisner since 1983, $60K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Gustav (1).
Is Wisner 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 Franklin Parish, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wisner?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wisner’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 Wisner?
By FEMA money that reached Wisner, Hurricane Gustav (2008): 148 households applied for aid, $557K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Gustav: 1 paid, $49K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wisner.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wisner’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.