Lafayette Parish Disaster Risk

Lafayette Parish has a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High, placing it in the 95th percentile nationally out of 3,144 counties. This composite score reflects the county's overall exposure to natural hazards including floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes, weighted by expected annual loss and social vulnerability.

Lafayette Parish is evaluated for five major natural hazard types: hurricane (98th percentile), flooding (93th percentile), earthquake (68th percentile), tornado (65th percentile), wildfire (53th percentile). The highest-risk hazard is hurricane at the 98th percentile nationally. These scores are derived from FEMA's National Risk Index, which analyzes expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience for each hazard type.

Lafayette Parish's composite risk percentile is 95th, compared to the Louisiana state average of 62th percentile. The state's overall risk rating is Relatively Low. This means Lafayette Parish faces higher natural disaster risk than the typical county in Louisiana.

Yes, Lafayette Parish's hurricane risk is at the 98th percentile nationally. This places it in the top quartile for this hazard type. For flooding specifically, Lafayette Parish is at the 93th percentile.

FEMA's National Risk Index (NRI) calculates risk scores for 18 natural hazard types across all U.S. counties and census tracts. The composite score combines Expected Annual Loss (estimated dollar losses from each hazard), Social Vulnerability (demographic factors affecting disaster impact), and Community Resilience (ability to recover). Percentile scores rank each county against all 3,144 U.S. counties, and risk ratings range from Very Low to Very High.

Lafayette Parish's composite risk score of 95th percentile is above the Louisiana state average of 62th percentile. This elevated risk is driven by hurricane exposure (98th percentile), along with flooding and earthquake and tornado and wildfire risk. Geographic location, terrain, climate patterns, and proximity to flood zones or fault lines all influence a county's risk profile.