Less hazard damage per building is expected in Lake Lorelei than in 60% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Lorelei gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Lake Lorelei 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
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 Lake Lorelei’s grade
River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lake Lorelei, and Lake Lorelei’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 9% (higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts).
B lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lake Lorelei’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $389K a year in losses across Lake Lorelei: $284K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lake Lorelei flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake Lorelei. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lake Lorelei isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Brown County.The storms Lake Lorelei remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Brown County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lake Lorelei itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Brown County has had 16 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.
Get ready for what Lake Lorelei 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.
- 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 Lake Lorelei
Is Lake Lorelei at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Lorelei has lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) and tornadoes (9%). 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.
Is Lake Lorelei 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 Brown County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lake Lorelei?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lake Lorelei’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lake Lorelei at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Lake Lorelei’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Lorelei.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lake Lorelei’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.