Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Lynch
Lynch isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lynch has 709 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1978.
What Lynch 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
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.
Does Lynch flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lynch, from FEMA’s records.
Lynch isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Harlan County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lynch
Disasters that paid out in Lynch itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Lynch), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$113K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$680K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2022Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$307K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2021Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$301K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2021Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides$57K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2020Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$274K to the City of Lynch for repairs
Show all 10
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$2.2M to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$26K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$23K to the City of Lynch for repairs
- 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$32K to the City of Lynch for repairs
Harlan County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Harlan County, 2000–2016.
Old photos of Lynch after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lynch archive →Lynch and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benham | — | 725 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.
Get ready for what Lynch 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.
- 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 Lynch
Does Lynch flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Lynch since 1978, $1K in all.
Is Lynch 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 Harlan County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lynch?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lynch’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 Lynch?
By FEMA money that reached Lynch, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2019): $2.2M to the City of Lynch for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lynch.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lynch’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.