Natural Disasters in Lake Charles, LA

Hazard risk, disaster history, and FEMA data

Natural Hazard Risk

Source: FEMA National Risk Index

Risk Score

95.7

Relatively High

Expected Annual Loss

94.7

Score (0-100)

Social Vulnerability

61.3

Score (0-100)

Community Resilience

24.0

Score (0-100)

Top Hazard Risks

Lightning99.2Hurricane98.2Tornado95.6

Hazard	Risk Score
Lightning	99.2
Hurricane	98.2
Tornado	95.6
Hail	93.9
Cold Wave	92.3
Wildfire	90.6
Ice Storm	90.1
Heat Wave	88.5
Drought	85.8
Strong Wind	84.3
Coastal Flood	84.0
Earthquake	65.5
Landslide	35.8
Winter Weather	32.0

Scores range from 0 (lowest risk) to 100 (highest risk) relative to all U.S. communities. Data from FEMA National Risk Index.

Disaster Declarations

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA

Total Declarations

Most Recent

Winter Storm

Jan 2026

Most Common Type

Hurricane

23 declarations

Date	Type	Declaration
Jan 24, 2026	Winter Storm	SEVERE WINTER STORM
Sep 10, 2024	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE
Sep 13, 2021	Coastal Storm	TROPICAL STORM NICHOLAS
Aug 29, 2021	Hurricane	HURRICANE IDA
Aug 27, 2021	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORM IDA
Jun 2, 2021	Flood	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING
Mar 9, 2021	Severe Ice Storm	SEVERE WINTER STORMS
Feb 18, 2021	Severe Ice Storm	SEVERE WINTER STORM
Jan 12, 2021	Hurricane	HURRICANE ZETA
Oct 27, 2020	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORM ZETA
Oct 16, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE DELTA
Oct 7, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE DELTA
Sep 14, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE SALLY
Aug 28, 2020	Hurricane	HURRICANE LAURA
Aug 23, 2020	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORMS LAURA AND MARCO
Jun 7, 2020	Coastal Storm	TROPICAL STORM CRISTOBAL
Mar 24, 2020	Biological	COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Mar 13, 2020	Biological	COVID-19
Jul 11, 2019	Coastal Storm	TROPICAL STORM BARRY
Oct 16, 2017	Hurricane	TROPICAL STORM HARVEY

Showing 20 of 42 declarations

Flood Insurance (NFIP)

Source: FEMA NFIP

Total Claims

10,377

Total Claims Paid

$323,745,321

Avg Claim Payout

$31,198

County-level NFIP data from FEMA National Flood Insurance Program.

Disaster Recovery Spending

Source: FEMA Public Assistance

Total Federal Spending

N/A

Disasters with PA

Total Projects

2,537

Disaster	Type	Projects	Federal $
DR-4559	Hurricane	1,055	N/A
DR-1607	Hurricane	1,054	$91,098,901
DR-4570	Hurricane	49	$7,424,142
DR-1792	Hurricane	172	$5,556,805
DR-4606	Severe Storm(s)	22	$3,212,572
DR-4590	Severe Storm(s)	38	$2,458,971
DR-1786	Hurricane	49	$2,394,698
DR-4345	Tropical Storm	27	$2,213,968
DR-4263	Flood	16	$1,433,603
DR-1603	Hurricane	23	$1,122,551
DR-1437	Hurricane	23	$469,032
DR-4484	Biological	4	$238,870
DR-4611	Hurricane	5	$232,424

Hazard Mitigation

Source: FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance

Mitigation Projects

Federal Funding

$32,059,426

Properties Protected

206

Avg Benefit-Cost Ratio

1.57

BCR

Top Mitigation Project Types

Project Type	Projects	Federal $
202.1: Elevation of Private Structures - Riverine	16	$4,089,917
205.8: Retrofitting Public Structures - Wind	11	$669,273
200.1: Acquisition of Private Real Property (Structures and Land) - Riverine	8	$2,218,612
200.1: Acquisition of Private Real Property (Structures and Land) - Riverine; 202.1: Elevation of Private Structures - Riverine	6	$14,160,646
207.1: Mitigation Reconstruction - PILOT	2	$926,680

Federally funded projects to reduce future disaster risk. Only includes completed or obligated projects.

Lake Charles has a relatively high overall natural hazard risk rating according to FEMA's National Risk Index. The top hazard risks are lightning, hurricane, tornado. The area has had 42 federal disaster declarations. The most common disaster type is hurricane (23 declarations). 10,377 flood insurance claims have been filed in the area. FEMA has obligated N/A in public assistance recovery funding. 62 hazard mitigation projects have been funded to reduce future risk.