Natural hazards · Lee

Lee, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lee comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lee?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lee to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes54%Inland flooding29%Cold waves6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Lee faces

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

Hurricanes

54% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lee flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Madison County.

Disasters that hit Lee

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LeeDeclared for Madison County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

583 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved

2024

Hurricane Debby

148 households applied for aid $310K aid approved

2023

Hurricane Idalia

674 households applied for aid $702K aid approved $45K to the Town of Lee for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

4 households applied for aid $500 aid approved

2016

Hurricane Hermine

$3K to the Town of Lee for repairs

2009

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

53 households applied for aid $322K aid approved

2008

Tropical Storm Fay

5 households applied for aid $687 aid approved

2004

Hurricane Jeanne

31 households applied for aid $38K aid approved

Madison County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

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. Lee 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 Lee’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lee. 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.