Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lake Harbor

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Lake Harbor Florida AerialPhoto: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Lake Harbor · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Lake Harbor

Lake Harbor isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Lake Harbor yet.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 29 declared for Palm Beach County
By hazard

What Lake Harbor faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

58%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

River and rain flooding

35%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Tornadoes Lightning top 2% Strong wind Cold waves Landslides Hail Earthquakes Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingWinter stormsIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 13% of Lake Harbor’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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.
Flood insurance claims

Does Lake Harbor flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake Harbor. 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

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

Insurance rates: Palm Beach County.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lake Harbor

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

  1. 2024Hurricane Milton2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
  2. 2022Hurricane Ian5 households applied for aid$700 aid approved
  3. 2017Hurricane Irma21 households applied for aid$18K aid approved
  4. 2005Hurricane Wilma39 households applied for aid$87K aid approved
  5. 2004Hurricane Jeanne8 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
  6. 2004Hurricane Frances12 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lake HarborPalm Beach County only

Palm Beach County has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter 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 Palm Beach County, 1999–1999.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Lake Harbor archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Lake Harbor faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Lake Harbor

Is Lake Harbor 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 Palm Beach County, 43% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 13.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lake Harbor?

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

By FEMA money that reached Lake Harbor, Hurricane Wilma (2005): 39 households applied for aid, $87K approved.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Harbor.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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