East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana: Natural Disaster Risk and History
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 98.0 out of 100, higher than about 98% of US counties, with tornadoes, cold waves and lightning scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $267 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 45 federal disaster declarations that included East Baton Rouge 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 47 tornadoes touching East Baton Rouge Parish from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 456,512 Buildings worth $126 billion Area 475 sq mi Risk rank in Louisiana 3 of 64 FIPS 22033
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Very High | 99.6 | $52 million | about once every 2.5 years | 38 |
| Cold wave | Relatively High | 98.7 | $23 million | about once every 1.1 years | 18 |
| Lightning | Very High | 98.3 | $2.8 million | about 87 a year | 626,766 strikes |
| Hurricane | Very High | 98.2 | $67 million | about once every 4.9 years | 69 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 98.1 | $12 million | about 15 a year | 253 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively High | 97.3 | $103 million | about 1.8 a year | 51 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 94.9 | $2.4 million | about 1.6 a year | 62 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 92.0 | $945,746 | about once every 2.0 years | 34 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 84.4 | $2.2 million | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 79.8 | $1.1 million | about 1.3 a year | 48 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 67.6 | $98,359 | about 1.2 a year | 23 |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 64.7 | $318,210 | about 19 a year | 595 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 59.7 | $2,163 | about once every 11 years | — |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Low | 54.6 | $240,077 | about once every 100 years | — |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 32.3 | $13,527 | rarer than once in 1,000 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 45
Most common: Hurricane 26, Flood 10, Coastal Storm 4, Severe Ice Storm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Hurricane |
| 1970s | 4 | Flood ×3, Hurricane |
| 1980s | 3 | Flood ×2, Tornado |
| 1990s | 2 | Flood, Hurricane |
| 2000s | 11 | Hurricane ×9, Other, Coastal Storm |
| 2010s | 7 | Hurricane ×3, Flood ×3, Coastal Storm |
| 2020s | 17 | Hurricane ×11, Coastal Storm ×2, Severe Ice Storm ×2, Winter Storm, Flood |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included East Baton Rouge 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 Isidore (2002), Tropical Storm Allison (2001), Hurricane Andrew (1992), Tropical Storm Allison (1989), Hurricane Edith (1971), 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 47
| Tornadoes touching the county | 47 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×3 |
| Peak month | June (10) |
| Deadliest | 7 Jun 2001, F1, 1 mi path, 1 killed, 0 injured |
| Longest path | 4 Dec 1973, F2, 42.7 mi path, 0 killed, 3 injured |
| Most recent | 28 Dec 2024, EF0, 2.8 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 1 / 77 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 12 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
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 East Baton Rouge Parish compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge Parish (this page) | — | Relatively High | 98.0 | Tornado |
| West Baton Rouge Parish | 22 km | Very Low | 31.8 | Hurricane |
| East Feliciana Parish | 34 km | Relatively Low | 56.4 | Hurricane |
| Livingston Parish | 37 km | Relatively High | 94.5 | Hurricane |
| Iberville Parish | 40 km | Relatively Low | 73.7 | Hurricane |
| Ascension Parish | 41 km | Relatively Moderate | 92.1 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Louisiana, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 66.4 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Moderate 59.6 |
| Community risk factor | 1.27 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $267 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 East Baton Rouge Parish's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Louisiana · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Tornado: Is there a tornado warning now?
- Cold wave: Carbon monoxide in winter · Power outages now
- Lightning: Weather alerts for Louisiana
- 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 East Baton Rouge Parish
What natural disasters is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana most at risk from?
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 98.0 out of 100, higher than about 98% of US counties, with tornadoes, cold waves and lightning scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $267 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has East Baton Rouge Parish had?
OpenFEMA lists 45 federal disaster declarations that included East Baton Rouge 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 East Baton Rouge Parish?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 47 tornadoes touching East Baton Rouge Parish from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 7 Jun 2001, F1, 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.