Natural hazards · Lansing

Lansing, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lansing comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 45 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lansing?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lansing to be higher than in 14% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Tornadoes8%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Lansing faces

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

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Lansing flood?

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

45paid claims since 1979

$466Kpaid to owners

9homes flooded more than once

19792026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tompkins County.

Disasters that hit Lansing

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Tompkins County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lansing itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into LansingDeclared for Tompkins County only

Tompkins County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Lansing

Lansing and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lockemostly inland floodingHigh

Drydenmostly inland floodingHigh

Grotonmostly inland floodingModerate

Ithacamostly inland floodingModerate

Lansingmostly inland floodingLow

Cayuga Heightsmostly inland floodingLow

Lansingmostly inland floodingVery low

Ulyssesmostly inland floodingVery low

Genoamostly inland floodingVery low

Covertmostly inland floodingVery low

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. Lansing covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Lansing total about $3.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.