Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Lambert faces more hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lambert gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%), then earthquakes (19%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1998.
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 Lambert 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
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
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 Lambert’s grade
River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lambert, and Lambert’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 11%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lambert’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $812K a year in losses across Lambert: $314K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lambert flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1998
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lambert, from FEMA’s records: 7.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Lambert isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Quitman County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lambert
Disasters that paid out in Lambert itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Lambert), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm349 households applied for aid$1.0M aid approved$39K to the Town of Lambert for repairs
- 2021Severe Winter Storms$22K to the Town of Lambert for repairs
- 2020Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$63K to the Town of Lambert for repairs
- 2020Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$14K to the Town of Lambert for repairs
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding$45K to the Town of Lambert for repairs
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding37 households applied for aid$43K aid approved$25K to the Town of Lambert for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 10
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding20 households applied for aid$22K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding20 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina$9K to the Town of Lambert for repairs
- 2001Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding$31K to the Town of Lambert for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Quitman County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Lambert after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lambert archive →Get ready for what Lambert 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Lambert
Is Lambert at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lambert has higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%) and earthquakes (19%). 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.
Does Lambert flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Lambert since 1998, $21K in all, or 7.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Lambert 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 Quitman County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lambert?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lambert’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 Lambert?
By FEMA money that reached Lambert, Severe Winter Storm (2026): 349 households applied for aid, $1.0M approved, and $39K to the Town of Lambert for repairs.
Is Lambert at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Lambert’s rate for it is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lambert.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lambert’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.