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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Berkshire Lakes · FEMA

FEMA puts Berkshire Lakes’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Berkshire Lakes gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then hurricanes (46%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 52%Hurricanes 46%

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

more than 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in Florida · higher than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
52% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 36 declared for Collier County
By hazard

What Berkshire Lakes 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

52%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

46%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Coastal flooding top 5% Tornadoes Cold waves top 0% Wildfire Lightning Hail Strong wind Earthquakes Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Winter stormsIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Berkshire Lakes’ grade

River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Berkshire Lakes, and Berkshire Lakes’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Hurricanes add 46%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Berkshire Lakes sits
Berkshire Lakes
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Berkshire Lakes’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding52%Hurricanes46%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.1M a year in losses across Berkshire Lakes: $3.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Berkshire Lakes’ 2,527 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Berkshire Lakes flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Berkshire Lakes. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Berkshire Lakes isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Collier County.
Disasters

The storms Berkshire Lakes remembers

None of the 36 disasters declared for Collier County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Berkshire Lakes itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Berkshire LakesCollier County only

Collier County has had 36 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Collier County, 1999–2020.

Be ready

Get ready for what Berkshire Lakes 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
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 Berkshire Lakes

Is Berkshire Lakes at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Berkshire Lakes has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and hurricanes (46%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Berkshire Lakes 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 Collier County, 29.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Berkshire Lakes?

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

Is Berkshire Lakes at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Berkshire Lakes’ rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Berkshire Lakes.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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