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A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bergen · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bergen faces less hazard damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bergen gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 87%Strong wind 4%Ice storms 2%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

less than 97%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A+
in New York · lower than 97% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
87% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 18 declared for Genesee County
By hazard

What Bergen 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

87%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Ice storms Earthquakes Hurricanes Tornadoes Hail Winter storms Wildfire Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts lightning at 8% of Bergen’s expected losses. Lightning does little damage to buildings (0.1%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Bergen’s grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bergen, and Bergen’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bergen sits
Bergen
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Bergen’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Strong wind4%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $244K a year in losses across Bergen: $159K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bergen’s 1,208 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Bergen town (3,120 residents) and Byron town (2,302 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Bergen flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bergen. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Bergen isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Genesee County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bergen

Disasters that paid out in Bergen itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Bergen), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$410 aid approved
  2. 1999Snow$2K to the Village of Bergen for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BergenGenesee County only

Genesee County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bergen after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bergen archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Bergen faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Bergen

Is Bergen at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bergen has lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Bergen 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 Genesee County, 1.0% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Bergen?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bergen’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 Bergen?

By FEMA money that reached Bergen, Snow (1999): $2K to the Village of Bergen for repairs.

Is Bergen at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Bergen’s rate for it is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bergen.

Town Square →
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Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bergen’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.