Photo: Photolitherland Chris Litherland · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Lafe
Lafe isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lafe has 478 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Lafe faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
Ice storms
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Lafe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lafe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lafe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Greene County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lafe
Disasters that paid out in Lafe itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Lafe), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$19K to the Town of Lafe for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Tornadoes17 households applied for aid$75K aid approved
Greene County has had 23 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Lafe after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lafe archive →Get ready for what Lafe faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Lafe
Is Lafe in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Greene County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lafe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lafe’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Lafe?
By FEMA money that reached Lafe, Severe Storms and Tornadoes (2006): 17 households applied for aid, $75K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lafe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lafe’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.