Rogues Harbor Inn · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Lansing faces less hazard damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lansing gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #114 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 45 claims here since 1979.
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 stands out about Lansing’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
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
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 Lansing’s grade
River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lansing, and Lansing’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
A #114 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Lansing’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lansing has less expected damage per building than 85% of New York towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Lansing: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lansing flood? Sometimes: 45 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lansing, from FEMA’s records: 8.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
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: Tompkins County.The storms Lansing remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for Tompkins County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lansing itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 199314 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Blizzard, declared for Tompkins County
- 199610 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms High Winds, Rain and Flooding, declared for Tompkins County
- 19946 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Tompkins County has had 14 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
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 →Lansing and its neighbors
Lansing is 3rd of the 10 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covert | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Genoa | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Lansing | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 45 |
| Lansing | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Ulysses | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Cayuga Heights | B+less damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Ithaca | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Groton | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Dryden | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Locke | C−more damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Northeast Ithaca | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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 Lansing
Is Lansing at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lansing has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #114 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Lansing flood?
Flood insurance has paid 45 claims in Lansing since 1979, $466K in all, or 8.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 9 properties have flooded more than once.
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 Tompkins County, 1.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
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.
Is Lansing at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Lansing’s rate for it is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lansing.
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.