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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lima · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Lima than in 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lima gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #219 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%), then tornadoes (10%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 82%Tornadoes 10%Hail 7%

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 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#219 of 362 in Wisconsin
Hazard risk
B+#219 of 362
in Wisconsin · lower than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 8 declared for Sheboygan County
By hazard

What Lima 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

82%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts

Hail

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Earthquakes Lightning Hurricanes Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 15% of Lima’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 Lima’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lima, and Lima’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 10% (higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Lima sits
Lima
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #219 of 362 in Wisconsin; lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Tornadoes10%Hail7%Everything else1%

The typical Wisconsin town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lima has more expected damage per building than 60% of Wisconsin towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Lima: $936K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Lima’s 2,956 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Gibbsville CDP (486 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 Lima flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lima. 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

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

Insurance rates: Sheboygan County.
Disasters

The storms Lima remembers

None of the 8 disasters declared for Sheboygan County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lima itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in LimaSheboygan County only

Sheboygan County has had 8 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

Lima and its neighbors

Lima is 7th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Sheboygan Falls: hazard risk A−Lyndon: hazard risk A−Wilson: hazard risk ASheboygan Falls: hazard risk AHolland: hazard risk AOostburg: hazard risk ASheboygan FallsLyndonWilsonSheboygan FallsHollandOostburgLima
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Sheboygan FallsAless damage than 95%river and rain flooding—
OostburgAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding—
WilsonAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding2
HollandAless damage than 91%river and rain flooding2
Sheboygan FallsA−less damage than 83%river and rain flooding1
LyndonA−less damage than 75%river and rain flooding—
LimaB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding0

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 Lima 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 ↗
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 Lima

Is Lima at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lima has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #219 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) 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.

Is Lima 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 Sheboygan County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lima?

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

Is Lima at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Lima’s rate for it is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lima.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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