Natural hazards · Lanark

Lanark, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lanark comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lanark?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lanark to be higher than in 20% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding39%Cold waves28%Tornadoes15%Hail8%Strong wind7%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Lanark faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lanark flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Portage County.

Disasters that hit Lanark

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LanarkDeclared for Portage County only

2019

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

$23K to the Town of Lanark for repairs

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$7K to the Town of Lanark for repairs

Portage County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Lanark

Lanark and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lanarkmostly inland floodingLow

Buena Vistamostly inland floodingLow

Belmontmostly inland floodingLow

Amherstmostly inland floodingVery low

Farmingtonmostly 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. Lanark 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 Lanark’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lanark. 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.