Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lac du Flambeau

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Nicolaus H. Hultin HouseNicolaus H. Hultin House · Photo: Csgaylord · CC BY-SA 3.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lac du Flambeau · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Lac du Flambeau than in 95% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lac du Flambeau gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns, #51 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 86%Hail 6%Tornadoes 4%

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 95%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#51 of 362 in Wisconsin
Hazard risk
A+#51 of 362
in Wisconsin · lower than 95% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 4 declared for Vilas County
By hazard

What Lac du Flambeau 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

86%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Ice storms Lightning Winter storms Wildfire Earthquakes Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 62% of Lac du Flambeau’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.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Lac du Flambeau’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lac du Flambeau, and Lac du Flambeau’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hail at 6% (higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Lac du Flambeau sits
Lac du Flambeau
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #51 of 362 in Wisconsin; lower expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Lac du Flambeau’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hail6%Tornadoes4%Everything else3%

The typical Wisconsin town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lac du Flambeau has less expected damage per building than 86% of Wisconsin towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.2M a year in losses across Lac du Flambeau: $594K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Lac du Flambeau’s 3,552 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Lac du Flambeau CDP (1,845 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Lac du Flambeau flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lac du Flambeau. 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

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

Insurance rates: Vilas County.
Disasters

The storms Lac du Flambeau remembers

None of the 4 disasters declared for Vilas County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lac du Flambeau itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lac du FlambeauVilas County only

Vilas County has had 4 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.

Next door

Lac du Flambeau and its neighbors

Lac du Flambeau is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Arbor Vitae: hazard risk ASherman: not gradedMinocqua: hazard risk A+Boulder Junction: hazard risk A−Manitowish Waters: not gradedWoodruff: hazard risk A+Fifield: not gradedArbor VitaeShermanMinocquaBoulder JunctionManitowish WatersWoodruffFifieldLac du Flambeau
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WoodruffA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding1
MinocquaA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding—
Lac du FlambeauA+less damage than 95%river and rain flooding0
Arbor VitaeAless damage than 91%river and rain flooding—
Boulder JunctionA−less damage than 76%river and rain flooding—
Sherman—381 residents; we grade 1,000+
Manitowish Waters—768 residents; we grade 1,000+
Fifield—950 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 Lac du Flambeau 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 ↗
Hail
  • Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
  • Stay away from windows while it falls.
  • Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
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 Lac du Flambeau

Is Lac du Flambeau at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lac du Flambeau has lower expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #51 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hail (6%). 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 Lac du Flambeau 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 Vilas County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lac du Flambeau?

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

Is Lac du Flambeau at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Lac du Flambeau’s rate for it is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lac du Flambeau.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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