Natural hazards · Lancaster

Lancaster, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lancaster comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2010. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lancaster?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lancaster to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding37%Tornadoes21%Strong wind12%Cold waves11%Earthquakes5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Lancaster faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 90 years in the area

Strong wind

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Lancaster flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lancaster, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 2010

$75Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Garrard County.

Disasters that hit Lancaster

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LancasterDeclared for Garrard County only

2025

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

28 households applied for aid $139K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes

74 households applied for aid $251K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides

4 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

Garrard County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter 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. Lancaster 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 Lancaster’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lancaster. 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.