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Stage Coach InnStage Coach Inn · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Lapeer · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Lapeer

Lapeer isn’t graded for hazard risk: Lapeer has 718 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 13 declared for Cortland County
By hazard

What Lapeer 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hurricanes Strong wind Ice storms Earthquakes Hail Winter storms Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Lapeer flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lapeer. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Cortland County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lapeer

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

  1. 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$5K to the Town of Lapeer for repairs
  2. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$33K to the Town of Lapeer for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in LapeerCortland County only

Cortland County has had 13 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Lapeer archive →
Next door

Lapeer and its neighbors

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

Marathon: hazard risk CHarford: not gradedVirgil: hazard risk C+MarathonHarfordVirgilLapeer
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
VirgilC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding5
MarathonCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding—
Harford—980 residents; we grade 1,000+

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 Lapeer 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 Lapeer

Is Lapeer 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 Cortland County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lapeer?

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

By FEMA money that reached Lapeer, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): $33K to the Town of Lapeer for repairs.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lapeer.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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