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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Saybrook-on-the-Lake · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Saybrook-on-the-Lake than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Saybrook-on-the-Lake gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%), then tornadoes (10%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1994.

River and rain flooding 76%Tornadoes 10%Strong wind 5%

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

less than 94%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in Ohio · lower than 94% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
76% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1994 · $6K
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 64% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Saybrook-on-the-Lake 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

76%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Hail Earthquakes Winter storms top 5% Cold waves top 2% Ice storms Hurricanes Wildfire Lightning Coastal flooding Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Saybrook-on-the-Lake’s grade

River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Saybrook-on-the-Lake, and Saybrook-on-the-Lake’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Saybrook-on-the-Lake sits
Saybrook-on-the-Lake
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Saybrook-on-the-Lake’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding76%Tornadoes10%Strong wind5%Everything else9%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $214K a year in losses across Saybrook-on-the-Lake: $174K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Saybrook-on-the-Lake’s 1,050 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Saybrook-on-the-Lake flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1994

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Saybrook-on-the-Lake, from FEMA’s records: 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 64% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 1 claim2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 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: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19942002
19942026
2
paid claims since 1994
$6K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$3K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Ashtabula County.
Disasters

The storms Saybrook-on-the-Lake remembers

None of the 11 disasters declared for Ashtabula County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Saybrook-on-the-Lake itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19941 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20021 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Saybrook-on-the-LakeAshtabula County only

Ashtabula County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Saybrook-on-the-Lake archive →
Next door

Saybrook-on-the-Lake and its neighbors

Saybrook-on-the-Lake has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Saybrook Township: hazard risk ASaybrook TownshipSaybrook-on-the-Lake
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Saybrook-on-the-LakeAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding2
Saybrook TownshipAless damage than 90%river and rain flooding4

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 Saybrook-on-the-Lake 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 ↗
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 Saybrook-on-the-Lake

Is Saybrook-on-the-Lake at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Saybrook-on-the-Lake has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and tornadoes (10%). 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.

Does Saybrook-on-the-Lake flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Saybrook-on-the-Lake since 1994, $6K in all, or 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 64% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Saybrook-on-the-Lake 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 Ashtabula County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Saybrook-on-the-Lake?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Saybrook-on-the-Lake’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Saybrook-on-the-Lake at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Saybrook-on-the-Lake’s rate for it is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Saybrook-on-the-Lake.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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