Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Silver Lake than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Silver Lake gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%), then hurricanes (29%). 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 Silver Lake 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
Tornadoes
Strong wind
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 Silver Lake’s grade
River and rain flooding is 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Silver Lake, and Silver Lake’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 6%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Silver Lake’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $663K a year in losses across Silver Lake: $560K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Silver Lake flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Silver Lake. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Silver Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lake County.The storms Silver Lake remembers
None of the 24 disasters declared for Lake County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Silver Lake itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Lake County has had 24 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lake County, 2000–2007.
Silver Lake and its neighbors
Silver Lake has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Lake | B+less damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Leesburg | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
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.
Get ready for what Silver Lake 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Silver Lake
Is Silver Lake at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Silver Lake has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%) and hurricanes (29%). 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 Silver Lake 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 Lake County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Silver Lake?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Silver Lake’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Silver Lake at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Silver Lake’s rate for it is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Silver Lake.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Silver Lake’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.