Sabine Parish, LA Environment & Hazard Risk
Relatively Low natural hazard risk, led by strong wind. 479 storm events since 1996.
- Expected yearly loss
- $13.92M
- Very Low nationally
- Storm events since 1996
- 479
- Most often thunderstorm wind
- Flood insurance policies
- 96
- 0.8% of homes
- Hurricanes nearby
- 3
- 8 tropical storms or stronger since 1865
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025
Overall risk
Relatively Low
Score 61.0 of 100
Social vulnerability
Very High
Score 91.2 of 100
Community resilience
Very Low
Score 14.7 of 100
Community resilience runs the other way: a higher rating means a community can recover faster.
Building value exposed: $5.52B · Agriculture value exposed: $188M · Risk-adjusted yearly loss: $23.01M
Risk by hazard
- Strong windRelatively High$1.53M/yr expected annual loss, about 3.5 events a year
- HurricaneRelatively Low$1.27M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 13 years
- LightningRelatively Moderate$405K/yr expected annual loss, about 70 events a year
- Heat waveRelatively Low$787K/yr expected annual loss, about 21 events a year
- Ice stormRelatively Moderate$181K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
- TornadoRelatively Moderate$1.7M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
- HailRelatively Low$325K/yr expected annual loss, about 3.3 events a year
- WildfireRelatively Low$90.43K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,097 years
- LandslideVery Low$1,890/yr expected annual loss, about once every 3 years
- DroughtRelatively Low$124K/yr expected annual loss, about 28 events a year
- Winter weatherRelatively Low$33.25K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.3 events a year
- EarthquakeVery Low$80.03K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,083 years
- Cold waveVery Low$172K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Flood risk and insurance
National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA flood maps
Check the flood zone for an address
- Homes with flood insurance
- 96 of 12,830 (0.8%)
- Homes in high-risk flood zones
- 0
- Flood claims since 1978
- 40
- Claims paid since 1978
- $698K
Flood claims paid per year
- Late winter severe storms$266K · 9 claims
- Hurricane Harvey$216K · 5 claims
- Flooding$3,570 · 1 claim
Storm history
Since 1996: 479 events, 6 deaths, $14.58M in damage
- Thunderstorm Wind130 · 4 deaths
- Hail84
- Heat64
- Flash Flood57
- Drought47
- Tornado25
- Excessive Heat22
- Winter Weather14
- Cold/Wind Chill6 · 2 deaths
- Winter Storm5
Events per year
43 tornadoes on record (EF0 7, EF1 10, EF2 6, F0 3, F1 6, F2 5, F3 5).
Most damaging storms
Since 1996, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage
- Thunderstorm Wind61 kt wind05/28/2024
Toro, Sabine Parish
2 deaths
What happened
Severe thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at near 70 mph resulted in a fishing barge capsizing near the Pirates Cove area along Toledo Bend Lake. Two of the six occupants inside the fishing barge became trapped under the barge and drowned.
- Thunderstorm Wind52 kt wind03/12/2001
Zwolle, Sabine Parish
1 death, $28K damage
What happened
A man was killed when a tree was blown over on a vehicle on LA 482 5 west of Zwolle.
- Thunderstorm Wind80 kt wind05/03/2009
Loring, Sabine Parish
1 death, $10K damage
What happened
Emergency Management and Sheriff Office confirmed the fatality of an elderly man near Zwolle, Louisiana. The man was killed by a fallen tree while lying in the bed of his pickup truck parked in the driveway next to his home.
- Cold/Wind Chill01/25/2026
Sabine
1 death
What happened
A strong surge of Arctic air invaded Northern Louisiana during late January with bitterly cold temperatures and light northerly winds. In wake of the this Arctic air arriving on the evening of January 24th, overnight low temperatures plummeted into the teens and lower 20s by the morning on January 26th and again on the 27th. Although northerly winds were relatively light throughout much of the event, they only further contributed to the dangerously cold temperatures across Northern Louisiana from late evening on January 24th through late morning on January 27th.||The following is a list of the 7 direct and indirect fatalities per parish from this period of very cold temperatures: ||Caddo Parish: 2 fatalities...A 63 year old male and an unknown aged male died in Downtown Shreveport due to hypothermia. |Desoto Parish: 3 fatalities...An 86 year old male died due to carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator in his garage. A 79 year old female died of hypoxia when her oxygen generator failed during a power outage. A 74 year old male died of hypothermia due to an extended power outage at his home. |Sabine Parish: 1 fatality...A 59 year old female died of hypothermia due to...
- Cold/Wind Chill01/16/2024
Sabine
1 death
What happened
A strong surge of Arctic air invaded North Louisiana during mid-January with bitterly cold temperatures and gusty northerly winds. In the wake of the this Arctic air building even deeper into the region on the evening of January 15th, overnight low temperatures were able to drop into the single digits and teens through the morning on January 16th. When combined with the persistent and strong northerly winds, these temperatures resulted in dangerously cold wind chills in the lower single digits to below zero across North Louisiana from early evening on January 15th through midday on January 16th.||Unfortunately, this period of extremely cold weather resulted in a fatality in the Fisher community in Sabine Parish on January 16th, where a 73 year old female succumbed to hypothermia after falling earlier in the day, and then placed in a bed inside her home to rest. When family members went to check on her a short time later, she was cold. The family's only source of heat during the extreme cold temperatures was a small electric heater, which was ineffective to keep the room warm from these very cold temperatures. After morning low temperatures in the mid teens were observed on the...
- TornadoEF2, 3.56 mi path, 900 yd wide01/09/2022
Peason Dam, Sabine Parish
6 injured, $1.5M damage
What happened
A strong and wide EF-2 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 125 mph touched down near Peason Road in the Peason community and tracked northeast before lifting shortly after passing Bridges Road. Radar data suggests that the starting point could have been slightly farther southwest than what is indicated in the survey and the ending point could have been slightly farther northeast than what was indicated. However, limited public road access prevented a more accurate starting and ending point. ||The maximum width of this tornado was approximately a half a mile, which allowed many residences and structures to be affected. Approximately 30 homes were damaged, with 10-15 homes either heavily damaged, destroyed, or rendered unlivable. The survey suggested that the tornado was most intense in a narrower corridor from Highway 118 where it crossed McInnis Road, where damage indicators of several structures suggested EF-2 winds. The peak wind speed of 125 mph was associated with a completely destroyed mobile home which had its remnants blown approximately 60 feet and piled up against a tree line. A family of 5 inside the mobile home were all injured, with a couple receiving critical...
Latest storm reports
Newest first
- Heat07/27/2026
Sabine
- Excessive Heat07/22/2026
Sabine
- Heat07/20/2026
Sabine
- Flash Flood06/15/2026
Florien, Sabine Parish
- Drought06/01/2026
Sabine
- Flash Flood05/23/2026
Many, Sabine Parish
- Thunderstorm Wind56 kt wind05/23/2026
Many, Sabine Parish
- Thunderstorm Wind56 kt wind05/23/2026
Florien, Sabine Parish
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Storms whose track crossed Sabine Parish, with the wind when it passed
- Hurricane Laura (2020)08/20/2020 · Landfall: LA · 937 mbCategory 298 mph nearby
- Hurricane Barry (2019)07/10/2019 · Landfall: LA · 993 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Tropical Storm Cindy (2017)06/20/2017 · Landfall: LA · 991 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Tropical Storm Chris (1982)09/09/1982 · 994 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1947)09/04/1947 · Landfall: FL, LA · 938 mbTropical storm69 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1938)08/10/1938 · Landfall: LATropical storm40 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1886)10/08/1886 · Landfall: LACategory 175 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1865)09/06/1865 · Landfall: LACategory 181 mph nearby
Drinking water
17 community water systems serve about 40,254 people. Violations since 2021.
15 systems had health-based violations, such as a contaminant over the legal limit or a missed treatment step. 11 systems had a violation of any kind still open at last report.
- Sabine Parish Water District 1Serves 7,833 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
- Ebarb Wwks Dist # 1 - Aimwell AreaServes 6,738 · Purchased groundwater · Local government10 health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
- South Toledo Bend Water DistrictServes 5,943 · Groundwater · Private19 health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
- Town of Many Water SystemServes 4,428 · Surface water · Local government5 health violations
- Belmont Waterworks INCServes 2,805 · Groundwater · Private21 health violations+23 monitoring or reporting
- Pendleton Water AssociationServes 2,634 · Surface water · Private48 health violations+25 monitoring or reporting
- Town of Zwolle Water SystemServes 2,520 · Groundwater · Local government18 health violations+8 monitoring or reporting
- Ebarb Wwks Dist #1 - North EbarbServes 1,761 · Groundwater · Local government41 health violations+4 monitoring or reporting
Largest systems by population served. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or notices were late or missing, not that the water was unsafe.
Climate
1991-2020 normals at Many, 4.9 mi from the county center
Summer highs peak around 92°F in Aug and winter lows bottom out near 35°F in Jan. About 56.3 inches of rain falls in a typical year.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58°F | 35°F | 5.29 in | 0.1 in |
| Feb | 62°F | 38°F | 4.44 in | 0.1 in |
| Mar | 70°F | 44°F | 5.17 in | - |
| Apr | 76°F | 51°F | 4.91 in | - |
| May | 83°F | 60°F | 5.20 in | - |
| Jun | 89°F | 68°F | 4.88 in | - |
| Jul | 92°F | 72°F | 4.18 in | - |
| Aug | 92°F | 70°F | 3.53 in | - |
| Sep | 87°F | 65°F | 3.37 in | - |
| Oct | 79°F | 52°F | 4.37 in | - |
| Nov | 68°F | 43°F | 4.50 in | - |
| Dec | 59°F | 37°F | 6.43 in | - |
| Year | 65°F average | 56.3 in | 0.2 in | |
Pollution sites
0 Superfund sites and 3 toxic release facilities in Sabine Parish
Superfund sites
None in this parish.
Toxic release facilities
- Boise Cascade Wood Products Florien Operations54,951 lbs released, Florien
- Weyerhaeuser NR Co Zwolle Div20,126 lbs released, Zwolle
- Stella-Jones Corp15,054 lbs released, Converse
Total: 90,131 lbs in 2024, 75,086 lbs to air.
Superfund sitesToxic release facilitiesEPA inspections and enforcementAir toxics cancer risk5 historic places
Frequently asked questions
- How risky is Sabine Parish for natural disasters?
- FEMA rates Sabine Parish relatively low for overall natural hazard risk, with expected losses of $13.92M a year. The highest-rated hazards are strong wind (relatively high), hurricane (relatively low), lightning (relatively moderate).
- What storms are most common in Sabine Parish?
- Since 1996, NOAA recorded 479 storm events affecting Sabine Parish, most often thunderstorm wind (130), hail (84), heat (64).
- How many tornadoes have hit Sabine Parish?
- 43 tornadoes have been recorded in Sabine Parish since 1950, including 5 rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
- How many homes in Sabine Parish have flood insurance?
- 96 residential flood insurance policies are in force in Sabine Parish, covering about 0.8% of homes. The program has paid $698K on 40 claims here since 1978.
- What is the weather like in Sabine Parish?
- At Many, average highs reach 92°F in Aug and lows fall to 35°F in Jan, with 56.3 inches of rain a year (1991-2020 normals).
Source: FEMA (National Risk Index, NFIP), NOAA (Storm Events, HURDAT2, Climate Normals), EPA · Last updated 08/01/2026 · Storm counts include events in forecast zones that touch the county. This product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.