Natural hazards · Lester

Lester, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Lester?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lester to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding54%Cold waves21%Tornadoes12%Earthquakes7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Lester faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Lester flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lester.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Lester isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Limestone County.

Disasters that hit Lester

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Lester itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Lester.

Brought FEMA money into LesterDeclared for Limestone County only

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Limestone County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Lester is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lester. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.