Natural hazards · Lake Placid

Lake Placid, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lake Placid comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lake Placid?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lake Placid to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding67%Earthquakes12%Cold waves8%Lightning5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Lake Placid faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong wind

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lake Placid flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Essex County.

Disasters that hit Lake Placid

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Lake Placid itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Village of Lake Placid.

Brought FEMA money into Lake PlacidDeclared for Essex County only

2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$13K to the Village of Lake Placid for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

19 households applied for aid $89K aid approved $6K to the Village of Lake Placid for repairs

2011

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

$6K to the Village of Lake Placid for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$70K to the Village of Lake Placid for repairs

Essex 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. Lake Placid 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 Lake Placid’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Lake Placid. 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.