West Carroll Parish, LA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, West Carroll Parish scores at the 9th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. The hazard here is driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside West Carroll Parish's mapped high-risk flood zone (the Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) are legally required to carry an NFIP flood policy. In practice, 16.8% of them do — 26 active policies against 155 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.8% of all residential structures in West Carroll Parish carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
West Carroll Parish against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, West Carroll Parish ranks 2876 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2469 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. West Carroll Parish, Louisiana is home to about 9,254 people across 359.686 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in West Carroll Parish
83 of West Carroll Parish's 4,562 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where West Carroll Parish's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. If you're unsure why any of this insurance requirement exists at all, the SFHA explainer covers it from first principles.