Washington Parish, Louisiana: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Washington Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 85.5 out of 100, higher than about 85% of US counties, with hurricanes, drought and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $35 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 39 federal disaster declarations that included Washington 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 37 tornadoes touching Washington Parish from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 45,382 Buildings worth $8.5 billion Area 683 sq mi Risk rank in Louisiana 19 of 64 FIPS 22117
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 | 95.9 | $17 million | about once every 5.6 years | 63 |
| Drought | Relatively High | 91.2 | $1.1 million | about 16 a year | 532 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 83.4 | $1.1 million | about 14 a year | 230 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 80.0 | $249,255 | about once every 362 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 79.0 | $11 million | about once every 1.4 years | 20 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 72.4 | $378,105 | about 2.8 a year | 106 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 72.3 | $326,752 | about 81 a year | 169,125 strikes |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 71.6 | $1.6 million | about once every 1.3 years | 30 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 69.6 | $587,070 | about 2.2 a year | 83 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 61.6 | $88,100 | about once every 1.2 years | 55 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 56.5 | $740,332 | about once every 1.1 years | 18 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 54.7 | $215,201 | about once every 952 years | — |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 48.1 | $36,429 | about 1.3 a year | 24 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 39.7 | $392 | about once every 5.3 years | — |
| 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 39
Most common: Hurricane 26, Flood 5, Coastal Storm 4, Severe Ice Storm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2 | Hurricane ×2 |
| 1970s | 2 | Snowstorm, Flood |
| 1980s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1990s | 2 | Hurricane ×2 |
| 2000s | 9 | Hurricane ×8, Coastal Storm |
| 2010s | 6 | Hurricane ×3, Flood ×2, Coastal Storm |
| 2020s | 16 | Hurricane ×11, Coastal Storm ×2, Severe Ice Storm ×2, Winter Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Washington 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), Tropical Storm Barry (2019), Tropical Storm Nate (2017), 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 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 37
| Tornadoes touching the county | 37 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×1 |
| Peak month | February (5) |
| Deadliest | 21 Feb 1961, F2, 0.8 mi path, 0 killed, 9 injured |
| Longest path | 9 Apr 1961, F2, 23.6 mi path |
| Most recent | 16 Feb 2025, EF1, 6 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 17 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 9 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 3 |
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 Washington Parish compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Parish (this page) | — | Relatively Moderate | 85.5 | Hurricane |
| Walthall County, MS | 33 km | Very Low | 25.5 | Strong wind |
| Tangipahoa Parish | 43 km | Relatively Moderate | 93.3 | Hurricane |
| Pearl River County, MS | 44 km | Relatively Moderate | 86.1 | Hurricane |
| St. Tammany Parish | 46 km | Relatively High | 96.6 | Hurricane |
| Marion County, MS | 47 km | Relatively Low | 60.0 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Louisiana, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very High 97.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 34.9 |
| Community risk factor | 1.72 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $35 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 Washington 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
- Drought: Drought monitor for Louisiana
- 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 Washington Parish
What natural disasters is Washington Parish, Louisiana most at risk from?
Washington Parish, Louisiana has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 85.5 out of 100, higher than about 85% of US counties, with hurricanes, drought and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $35 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Washington Parish had?
OpenFEMA lists 39 federal disaster declarations that included Washington 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 Washington Parish?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 37 tornadoes touching Washington Parish from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 21 Feb 1961, F2, 0.8 mi path, 0 killed, 9 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.