Natural hazards · Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Saranac Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1986. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Saranac Lake?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Saranac Lake to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding84%Earthquakes7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Saranac Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

84% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Saranac Lake flood?

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

4paid claims since 1986

$10Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19862026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Franklin County.

Disasters that hit Saranac Lake

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Saranac LakeDeclared for Franklin County only

2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$16K to the Village of Saranac Lake for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

2 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2011

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

$3.3M to the Village of Saranac Lake for repairs

Franklin County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

St. Armandmostly inland floodingHigh

Saranac Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Harrietstownmostly inland floodingModerate

North Elbamostly inland floodingLow

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