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Hamlet of Carlisle intersection on US-20Photo: Tyler A. McNeil · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Carlisle · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Carlisle than in 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carlisle gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 91%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 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 70%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in New York · lower than 70% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
13
of 20 declared for Schoharie County
By hazard

What Carlisle 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

91%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hail Lightning Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Carlisle’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Carlisle, and Carlisle’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Carlisle sits
Carlisle
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Hurricanes4%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $522K a year in losses across Carlisle: $428K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Carlisle’s 1,768 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Sharon town (1,697 residents) and Seward town (1,583 residents) and Sharon Springs village (483 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 Carlisle flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Carlisle 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.
Disasters

13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Carlisle

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

  1. 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$20K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  2. 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee$44K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  3. 2011Hurricane Irene2 households applied for aid$6K aid approved$23K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  4. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$29K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Winter Storm$3K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Winter Storm$79K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
Show all 13
  1. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$41K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  2. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$38K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  3. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$18K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  4. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan$4K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  5. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
  7. 2002Snowstorms$11K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CarlisleSchoharie County only

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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Carlisle archive →
Next door

Carlisle and its neighbors

Carlisle is 2nd of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Cobleskill: hazard risk BCharleston: hazard risk BRoot: hazard risk C+Esperance: hazard risk CSharon: hazard risk B+CobleskillCharlestonRootEsperanceSharonCarlisle
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SharonB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding1
CarlisleB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding0
CharlestonBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding12
CobleskillBless damage than 59%river and rain flooding7
RootC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding5
EsperanceCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding87

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Carlisle 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 Carlisle

Is Carlisle at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carlisle has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Carlisle 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 Carlisle?

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

By FEMA money that reached Carlisle, Severe Winter Storm (2008): $79K to the Town of Carlisle for repairs.

Is Carlisle at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Carlisle’s rate for it is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Carlisle.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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