Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Goshen
Goshen isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Goshen yet. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2005.
What Goshen faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Goshen flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2005
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Goshen, from FEMA’s records.
Goshen isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sullivan County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Goshen
Disasters that paid out in Goshen itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Goshen), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
- 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$919K to the Town of Goshen for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$14K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$2K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$27K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$18K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
Show all 10
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$152K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$9K aid approved$18K to the Town of Goshen for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2003Snow$4K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Goshen for repairs
Sullivan County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Goshen after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Goshen archive →Goshen and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunapee | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Newbury | C+more damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Unity | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Lempster | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Washington | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Newport | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Goshen faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
Questions about natural hazards in Goshen
Does Goshen flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Goshen since 2005, $22K in all.
Is Goshen in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Sullivan County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Goshen?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Goshen’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Goshen?
By FEMA money that reached Goshen, Severe Storm and Flooding (2021): $919K to the Town of Goshen for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Goshen.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Goshen’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.