Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lansing

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Miller HomesteadMiller Homestead · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Lansing · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Lansing

Lansing isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lansing has 165 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2007.

Flood claims
3
paid since 2007 · $202K
Disasters paid out here
2
of 20 declared for Ashe County
By hazard

What Lansing 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Hurricanes Ice storms Strong wind Hail Wildfire Landslides top 4% Lightning Winter storms Cold waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHeat wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 14% of Lansing’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Lansing flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2007

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lansing, from FEMA’s records.

Paid flood claims, by year
2007: 1 claim2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 2 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20072024
20072026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Helene2 claims · $178K
3
paid claims since 2007
$202K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$67K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Lansing isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Ashe County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lansing

Disasters that paid out in Lansing itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Lansing), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Tropical Storm Helene765 households applied for aid$4.5M aid approved$2.3M to the Town of Lansing for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $178K
  2. 2004Hurricane Ivan7 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$3K to the Town of Lansing for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in LansingAshe County only

Ashe County has had 20 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Lansing after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Lansing archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Lansing faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Lansing

Does Lansing flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Lansing since 2007, $202K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Helene (2).

Is Lansing 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 Ashe County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lansing?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lansing’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 Lansing?

By FEMA money that reached Lansing, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 765 households applied for aid, $4.5M approved, and $2.3M to the Town of Lansing for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Helene: 2 paid, $178K.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lansing.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lansing’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.