Storms, floods and disasters in Lake Hughes
Lake Hughes isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lake Hughes has 888 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Lake Hughes 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
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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 Lake Hughes flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake Hughes. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lake Hughes isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Los Angeles County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lake Hughes
Disasters that paid out in Lake Hughes itself (aid to households or repair grants to Lake Hughes), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Wildfires5 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides57 households applied for aid$139K aid approved
Los Angeles County has had 40 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 44 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Los Angeles County, 2002–2025.
Old photos of Lake Hughes after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lake Hughes archive →Lake Hughes and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Lake | D−among the highest damage | river and rain flooding | — |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Lake Hughes 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Lake Hughes
Is Lake Hughes 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 Los Angeles County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lake Hughes?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lake Hughes’ 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 Lake Hughes?
By FEMA money that reached Lake Hughes, Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides (2004): 57 households applied for aid, $139K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Hughes.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lake Hughes’ 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.