Rainbow Lakes is calmer than 93% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rainbow Lakes comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2011.
What stands out about Rainbow Lakes’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Rainbow Lakes?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 555 of the 564 New Jersey towns we cover.
Rainbow Lakes covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Does Rainbow Lakes flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2011
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rainbow Lakes, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene1 claim · $4K
Rainbow Lakes isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Morris County.What Rainbow Lakes faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Morris County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rainbow Lakes itself in FEMA’s records.
Morris County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Get ready for what Rainbow Lakes actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Rainbow Lakes and its neighbors
Rainbow Lakes has the lowest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsippany-Troy Hills Township | High | inland flooding | 542 |
| Mountain Lakes | Low | inland flooding | 4 |
| Rainbow Lakes | Very low | inland flooding | 1 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Morris County’s 26 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Rainbow Lakes’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Rainbow Lakes.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Rainbow Lakes, expected losses total about $798K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rainbow Lakes.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.