90% of Louisiana Parishes Declared Disaster Areas in Last 18 Months

In advance of the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, the Louisiana Department of Insurance pointed out that over the last 18 months, nearly 90 percent of the state’s parishes have been included in major disaster declarations.

“Over the last 18 months, federal Major Disaster Declarations have been issued for 56 of our 64 parishes as a result of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding — and 14 of those parishes were struck twice. None of us has the luxury of thinking ‘it won’t happen to me’,” Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said in the LDI’s announcement.

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance

According to FEMA, more than half of the dwellings damaged in the August 2016 historic flooding were located in moderate- and low-risk areas. Data compiled by LDI shows that as of Dec. 2016, 23.4 percent of Louisiana residences have National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies.

In three-quarters of the state’s parishes, the percentage take-up in the program is below 20 percent. The highest participation is in the Greater New Orleans area.

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance

The Atlantic hurricane season started on June 1.

In a recent seasonal tropical forecast for the North Atlantic basin for the 2017 season, IBM’s The Weather Co. said it now expects a total of 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes, a slight increase in activity from a previous forecast in April.