What Is The Flooding Forecast For Baton Rouge?

Louisianans fear and respect the annual hurricane season. Southeast Louisiana has years of experience with floods. Data gathered over time shows that Baton Rouge has had flood events 30 days or longer roughly once every 3 or 4 years over the last century. 

And our city is at higher risk for two reasons.

1) Climate change, with an increasing amount of rain, may be overwhelming

2) Baton Rouge’s stormwater management infrastructure. As more storm drains overflow from heavy rain last week, more roads and homes in southeastern Baton Rouge face danger. 

Flood risk is increasing for East Baton Rouge Parish, according to Floodfactor.com. As sea levels rise and weather patterns change, flood risks will increase. Approximately 33,148 properties are already at risk in East Baton Rouge Parish. Total annual flood damages in East Baton Rouge Parish are projected to be $9.7M this year (and increasing to $11.2M in 30 years.)

While deeper floods from major events, like hurricanes, are less likely to occur in the future, they will cause greater damage than more shallow flood events, like heavy rains.

Do I Need Flood Insurance?

Even when your home sits at the top of a hill or is built up several feet off the ground, your Baton Rouge home might be at risk. You may go a lifetime and never experience flood damage. However, any home can flood during extreme weather events. 

Flood insurance is typically easy to shop for and purchase. The less likely a house is to flood, the easier and less costly a flood insurance policy will be. So the cost depends on the location of the property. Learn more about the National Flood Insurance Program at FEMA.gov.