Photo: Ktkvtsh · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Lake
Lake isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lake has 522 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What 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
Tornadoes
Hail
Hurricanes
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 Lake flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
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: Newton County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lake
Disasters that paid out in Lake itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Lake), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding283 households applied for aid$1.7M aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina454 households applied for aid$449K aid approved
Newton County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Lake after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lake archive →Get ready for what 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.
- 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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.
- 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 Lake
Is 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 Newton County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lake?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lake’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?
By FEMA money that reached Lake, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2024): 283 households applied for aid, $1.7M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where 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.