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Aerial view of Hawthorne Boulevard in Lennox, April 2024Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 4.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lennox · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Lennox, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lennox gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #775 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (68%), then earthquakes (32%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1980.

River and rain flooding 68%Earthquakes 32%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#775 of 847 in California
Hazard risk
D−#775 of 847
in California · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
68% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1980 · $1K
Flood claims per home
0 per 1,000
fewer than 93% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Lennox 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

68%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

32%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesWildfireWinter stormsIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts earthquakes at 46% of Lennox’s expected losses. Earthquakes do little damage to buildings (31.8%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Lennox’s grade

River and rain flooding is 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lennox, and Lennox’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 32%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Lennox sits
Lennox
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− #775 of 847 in California; among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

Lennox’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding68%Earthquakes32%

The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lennox has more expected damage per building than 91% of California towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $11.0M a year in losses across Lennox: $8.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Lennox covers 6 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Lennox flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1980

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lennox, from FEMA’s records: 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 93% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1980: 2 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims1980
19802026
2
paid claims since 1980
$1K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$566
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Lennox 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.
Disasters

The storms Lennox remembers

None of the 40 disasters declared for Los Angeles County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lennox itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19802 flood claims paidThe year of Brush and Timber Fires, declared for Los Angeles County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in LennoxLos Angeles County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Lennox after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Lennox archive →
Next door

Lennox and its neighbors

Lennox is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Inglewood: hazard risk D−Hawthorne: hazard risk D−InglewoodHawthorneLennox
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
InglewoodD−more damage than 95%river and rain flooding8
HawthorneD−more damage than 98%river and rain flooding1
LennoxD−among the highest damageriver and rain flooding2

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Lennox faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Lennox

Is Lennox at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lennox has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #775 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (68%) and earthquakes (32%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Lennox flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Lennox since 1980, $1K in all, or 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 93% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Lennox 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 Lennox?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lennox’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Lennox at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Lennox’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lennox.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lennox’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.