Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0For strong wind, Baldwin’s building-damage rate is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baldwin gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%), then strong wind (18%). 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 Baldwin 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
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 Baldwin’s grade
River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Baldwin, and Baldwin’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 18%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Baldwin’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $371K a year in losses across Baldwin: $307K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Baldwin flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Baldwin. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Baldwin 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 Baldwin remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Lake County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Baldwin itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Lake County has had 6 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Baldwin 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.
- 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 Baldwin
Is Baldwin at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baldwin has lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and strong wind (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Baldwin 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, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Baldwin?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Baldwin’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Baldwin at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Baldwin’s rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Baldwin.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Baldwin’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.