Livingstonville Community Church · Photo: Lvklock · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Broome
Broome isn’t graded for hazard risk: Broome has 773 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1979.
What Broome 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
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 Broome flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Broome, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene1 claim · $20K
- Tropical Storm Lee1 claim · $8K
- The Torrential rain1 claim · $4K
Broome isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Schoharie County.15 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Broome
Disasters that paid out in Broome itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Broome), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$12K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee$16K to the Town of Broome for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $8K
- 2011Hurricane Irene$1.2M to the Town of Broome for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $20K
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$48K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$55K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$39K to the Town of Broome for repairs
Show all 15
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$473K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$23K to the Town of Broome for repairs6 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$107K to the Town of Broome for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan$16K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$37K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2002Snowstorms$16K to the Town of Broome for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$8K to the Town of Broome for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$16K to the Town of Broome for repairs
Schoharie County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Old photos of Broome after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Broome archive →Broome 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berne | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Gilboa | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Rensselaerville | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Fulton | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 25 |
| Middleburgh | C−more damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 68 |
| Conesville | — | 750 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Preston-Potter Hollow | — | 400 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Broome 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.
- 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 Broome
Does Broome flood?
Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Broome since 1979, $235K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (1).
Is Broome 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 Schoharie County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Broome?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Broome’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 Broome?
By FEMA money that reached Broome, Hurricane Irene (2011): $1.2M to the Town of Broome for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 1 paid, $20K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Broome.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Broome’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.