How much flood risk does Plaquemines Parish actually carry?
Plaquemines Parish lands at the 83th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively High" territory — well above the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 4 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Plaquemines Parish
Out of 4,062 homes FEMA counts inside Plaquemines Parish's mapped flood zone, 2,147 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 52.9% compliance, short of full coverage. Across all residential structures in Plaquemines Parish, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 51.1% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Plaquemines Parish compares nationally
Plaquemines Parish sits at rank 560 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1708 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana is home to about 22,289 people across 780.595 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Plaquemines Parish
FEMA counts 7,449 residential structures in Plaquemines Parish overall, 3,808 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Plaquemines Parish's numbers. Because storm surge plays a real role here, the guide to coastal vs. inland flood hazard is worth reading alongside this page.