Ascension Parish, Louisiana: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Ascension Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 92.1 out of 100, higher than about 92% of US counties, with hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $120 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 56 federal disaster declarations that included Ascension Parish since 1965, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3638-LA (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 22 tornadoes touching Ascension Parish from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 126,426 Buildings worth $34 billion Area 306 sq mi Risk rank in Louisiana 11 of 64 FIPS 22005
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively High | 98.0 | $74 million | about once every 4.2 years | 81 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 95.3 | $13 million | about once every 4.2 years | 19 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 91.2 | $3.5 million | about 15 a year | 257 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 89.4 | $1.2 million | about 87 a year | 165,573 strikes |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 82.5 | $4.4 million | about once every 1.1 years | 17 |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 81.3 | $1.0 million | about 19 a year | 553 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 79.2 | $2.2 million | about 3.8 a year | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 77.8 | $18 million | about once every 1.5 years | 19 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 76.2 | $753,936 | about 1.4 a year | 52 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 71.4 | $245,501 | about once every 2.6 years | 27 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 58.4 | $433,499 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 53.6 | $636,456 | about 1.2 a year | 45 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 28.7 | $29,261 | about once every 1.1 years | 18 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 26.6 | $12,294 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Landslide | Very Low | 22.0 | $149 | about once every 23 years | — |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 56
Most common: Hurricane 29, Flood 14, Coastal Storm 4, Severe Ice Storm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2 | Hurricane ×2 |
| 1970s | 8 | Flood ×4, Hurricane ×2, Snowstorm, Severe Storm |
| 1980s | 6 | Flood ×3, Tornado ×2, Hurricane |
| 1990s | 5 | Hurricane ×2, Flood ×2, Severe Storm |
| 2000s | 10 | Hurricane ×8, Other, Coastal Storm |
| 2010s | 8 | Flood ×4, Hurricane ×3, Coastal Storm |
| 2020s | 17 | Hurricane ×11, Coastal Storm ×2, Severe Ice Storm ×2, Winter Storm, Flood |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Ascension Parish
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3638-LA): 64 Louisiana counties designated.
- Tropical Storm Francine (2024, EM-3614-LA): 64 Louisiana counties designated.
- Tropical Storm Nicholas (2021, EM-3574-LA): 64 Louisiana counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Francine (2024), Tropical Storm Francine (2024), Tropical Storm Nicholas (2021), Hurricane Ida (2021), Tropical Storm Ida (2021), Hurricane Zeta (2021), Tropical Storm Zeta (2020), Hurricane Delta (2020), Hurricane Sally (2020), Hurricane Laura (2020), Tropical Storm Cristobal (2020), Hurricane Barry (2019), Tropical Storm Barry (2019), Hurricane Isaac (2012), Tropical Storm Isaac (2012), Hurricane Gustav (2008), Hurricane Rita (2005), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Lili (2002), Tropical Storm Allison (2001), Hurricane Georges (1998), Hurricane Andrew (1992), Hurricane Juan (1985), Hurricane Carmen (1974), Hurricane Edith (1971), Hurricane Camille (1969), Hurricane Betsy (1965).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Louisiana also had 6 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 22
| Tornadoes touching the county | 22 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×1 |
| Peak month | March (4) |
| Deadliest | 7 Feb 2017, EF1, 6.1 mi path, 1 killed, 0 injured |
| Longest path | 12 Apr 1969, F3, 10.7 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured |
| Most recent | 4 Mar 2025, EF1, 1.8 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 1 / 21 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 6 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Ascension Parish compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension Parish (this page) | — | Relatively Moderate | 92.1 | Hurricane |
| St. James Parish | 23 km | Relatively Low | 71.0 | Hurricane |
| Livingston Parish | 32 km | Relatively High | 94.5 | Hurricane |
| Assumption Parish | 36 km | Relatively Low | 70.3 | Drought |
| St. John the Baptist Parish | 38 km | Relatively Moderate | 81.5 | Hurricane |
| East Baton Rouge Parish | 41 km | Relatively High | 98.0 | Tornado |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Louisiana, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Low 34.8 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 84.6 |
| Community risk factor | 1.00 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $120 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Ascension Parish's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Louisiana · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Tornado: Is there a tornado warning now?
- Heat wave: Heatstroke warning signs
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Ascension Parish
What natural disasters is Ascension Parish, Louisiana most at risk from?
Ascension Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 92.1 out of 100, higher than about 92% of US counties, with hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $120 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Ascension Parish had?
OpenFEMA lists 56 federal disaster declarations that included Ascension Parish since 1965, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3638-LA (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). Another 6 Louisiana declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Ascension Parish?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 22 tornadoes touching Ascension Parish from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 7 Feb 2017, EF1, 6.1 mi path, 1 killed, 0 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.