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Lacoochee FL CloudsPhoto: Rkriley · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lacoochee · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Lacoochee than in 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lacoochee gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%), then hurricanes (35%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 55%Hurricanes 35%Wildfire 5%

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 84%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Florida · higher than 84% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
55% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
7
of 33 declared for Pasco County
By hazard

What Lacoochee 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

55%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

35%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Wildfire

5%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Cold waves top 5% Hail Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingWinter 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 Lacoochee’s grade

River and rain flooding is 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lacoochee, and Lacoochee’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Hurricanes add 35%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Lacoochee sits
Lacoochee
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding55%Hurricanes35%Wildfire5%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $556K a year in losses across Lacoochee: $447K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, FEMA took 47 aid registrations from Lacoochee addresses (the town has 272 homes).
Shared tract.All of Lacoochee’s 1,124 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 Lacoochee flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Pasco County.
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lacoochee

Disasters that paid out in Lacoochee itself (aid to households or repair grants to Lacoochee), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Milton16 households applied for aid$37K aid approved
  2. 2017Hurricane Irma47 households applied for aid$68K aid approved
  3. 2012Tropical Storm Debby5 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
  4. 2004Hurricane Jeanne71 households applied for aid$164K aid approved
  5. 2004Hurricane Ivan1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
  6. 2004Hurricane Frances40 households applied for aid$103K aid approved
Show all 7
  1. 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley5 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in LacoocheePasco County only

Pasco County has had 33 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Pasco County, 2000–2000.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Lacoochee archive →
Next door

Lacoochee and its neighbors

Lacoochee has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Trilby: not gradedTrilbyLacoochee
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
LacoocheeC−more damage than 84%river and rain flooding0
Trilby—197 residents; we grade 1,000+

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 Lacoochee 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 ↗
Wildfire
  • 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.
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 Lacoochee

Is Lacoochee at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lacoochee has higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%) and hurricanes (35%). 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 Lacoochee 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 Pasco County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 10.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lacoochee?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lacoochee’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 Lacoochee?

By FEMA money that reached Lacoochee, Hurricane Jeanne (2004): 71 households applied for aid, $164K approved.

Is Lacoochee at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (55%), and Lacoochee’s rate for it is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lacoochee.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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