Photo: Superman7515 · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Lincoln’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lincoln gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%), then hurricanes (26%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Lincoln 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
Hurricanes
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.
What’s behind Lincoln’s grade
River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lincoln, and Lincoln’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 26% (higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Lincoln’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $269K a year in losses across Lincoln: $149K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lincoln flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lincoln. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lincoln isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sussex County.The storms Lincoln remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Sussex County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lincoln itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Sussex County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Lincoln 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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 Lincoln
Is Lincoln at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lincoln has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%) and hurricanes (26%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Lincoln 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 Sussex County, 61% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 12.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lincoln?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lincoln’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lincoln at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Lincoln’s rate for it is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lincoln.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lincoln’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.