Union Parish, Louisiana: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Union Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 49.7 out of 100, higher than about 49% of US counties, with ice storms, strong winds and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $11 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 34 federal disaster declarations that included Union Parish since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4900-LA (Severe Winter Storm, declared 18 February 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 51 tornadoes touching Union Parish from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Louisiana All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 21,031 Buildings worth $5.1 billion Area 915 sq mi Risk rank in Louisiana 43 of 64 FIPS 22111
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 90.0 | $624,626 | about 1.3 a year | 87 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 89.5 | $1.3 million | about 3.8 a year | 145 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 76.8 | $847,189 | about 21 a year | 329 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 64.6 | $1.4 million | about once every 1.5 years | 44 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 64.3 | $215,543 | about once every 26 years | 10 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 60.8 | $1,853 | about once every 2.6 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 57.8 | $5.6 million | about 1.2 a year | 34 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 52.7 | $209,179 | about once every 459 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 49.5 | $168,745 | about 3.7 a year | 139 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 44.9 | $22,573 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 42.0 | $53,638 | about 26 a year | 805 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 39.0 | $101,922 | about 66 a year | 97,075 strikes |
| Cold wave | Very Low | 18.8 | $134,659 | about once every 1.7 years | 11 |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 14.5 | $7,889 | about 3.2 a year | 60 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | 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 34
Most common: Hurricane 17, Severe Storm 5, Severe Ice Storm 3, Flood 3.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | Snowstorm |
| 1980s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1990s | 3 | Severe Storm ×3 |
| 2000s | 10 | Hurricane ×7, Severe Storm, Severe Ice Storm, Snowstorm |
| 2010s | 3 | Severe Storm, Flood, Hurricane |
| 2020s | 15 | Hurricane ×9, Winter Storm ×2, Coastal Storm ×2, Severe Ice Storm ×2 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Union 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: Tropical Storm Francine (2024), Tropical Storm Nicholas (2021), Hurricane Ida (2021), Tropical Storm Ida (2021), Tropical Storm Zeta (2020), Hurricane Delta (2020), Hurricane Sally (2020), Hurricane Laura (2020), Tropical Storm Cristobal (2020), Hurricane Isaac (2012), Hurricane Ike (2008), Hurricane Gustav (2008), Hurricane Rita (2005), Hurricane Katrina (2005).
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 51
| Tornadoes touching the county | 51 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×3 |
| Peak month | April (13) |
| Deadliest | 5 Dec 1953, F2, 9.7 mi path, 0 killed, 16 injured |
| Longest path | 3 Dec 1978, F3, 61.1 mi path |
| Most recent | 5 Jan 2025, EF2, 9 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 36 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 11 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
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 Union Parish compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Parish (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 49.7 | Ice storm |
| Lincoln Parish | 37 km | Relatively Low | 64.3 | Ice storm |
| Union County, AR | 43 km | Relatively Low | 53.9 | Ice storm |
| Ouachita Parish | 44 km | Relatively Moderate | 87.5 | Ice storm |
| Morehouse Parish | 54 km | Relatively Low | 55.3 | Ice storm |
| Claiborne Parish | 58 km | Very Low | 41.7 | Ice storm |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Louisiana, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very High 88.8 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 29.1 |
| Community risk factor | 1.58 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $11 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 Union Parish's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Louisiana · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Ice storm: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Strong wind: Power outages 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 Union Parish
What natural disasters is Union Parish, Louisiana most at risk from?
Union Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 49.7 out of 100, higher than about 49% of US counties, with ice storms, strong winds and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $11 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Union Parish had?
OpenFEMA lists 34 federal disaster declarations that included Union Parish since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4900-LA (Severe Winter Storm, declared 18 February 2026). Another 6 Louisiana declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Union Parish?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 51 tornadoes touching Union Parish from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 5 Dec 1953, F2, 9.7 mi path, 0 killed, 16 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.