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Lake Carmel, New YorkPhoto: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Lake Carmel · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Lake Carmel

Lake Carmel isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lake Carmel is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1979.

Flood claims
16
paid since 1979 · $122K
Disasters paid out here
0
of 20 declared for Putnam County
By hazard

What Lake Carmel 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

73%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 88% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts

Tornadoes

5%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Ice storms Lightning Hail Winter storms Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 10% of Lake Carmel’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 Lake Carmel flood? Sometimes: 16 flood claims since 1979

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

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 5 claims1980: 2 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 1 claim1983: 0 claims1984: 1 claim1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 3 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 1 claim2022: 0 claims2023: 2 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197919802011
19792026
Biggest named events
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding2 claims · $71K
  • Hurricane Irene2 claims · $3K
16
paid claims since 1979
$122K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Putnam County.
Disasters

The storms Lake Carmel remembers

None of the 20 disasters declared for Putnam County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lake Carmel itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19795 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20113 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Irene, declared for Putnam County
  3. 19802 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lake CarmelPutnam County only

Putnam 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; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Lake Carmel archive →
Next door

Lake Carmel and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Kent: hazard risk A+Patterson: hazard risk ACarmel: hazard risk AKentPattersonCarmelLake Carmel
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
KentA+less damage than 96%river and rain flooding17
CarmelAless damage than 95%river and rain flooding77
PattersonAless damage than 93%river and rain flooding6

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Lake Carmel 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
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 Lake Carmel

Does Lake Carmel flood?

Flood insurance has paid 16 claims in Lake Carmel since 1979, $122K in all. The most claims came from Vermont/New York Flooding (2).

Is Lake Carmel 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 Putnam County, 63% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lake Carmel?

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

By flood claims, Vermont/New York Flooding: 2 paid, $71K.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Carmel.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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