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DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Edmeston · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Edmeston faces more hazard damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Edmeston gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2006.

River and rain flooding 97%

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

more than 86%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in New York · higher than 86% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
97% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2006 · $7K
Disasters paid out here
10
of 20 declared for Otsego County
By hazard

What Edmeston 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

97%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% 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 Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 14% of Edmeston’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Edmeston’s grade

River and rain flooding is 97% of the building damage FEMA expects in Edmeston, and Edmeston’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Edmeston sits
Edmeston
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding97%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Edmeston: $860K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Edmeston’s 1,907 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Edmeston CDP (592 residents) and South Edmeston CDP (137 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 Edmeston flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2006

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Edmeston, from FEMA’s records: 1.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 74% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2006
20062026
1
paid claims since 2006
$7K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$7K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Otsego County.
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Edmeston

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

  1. 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$19K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$14K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  3. 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee3 households applied for aid$6K aid approved$21K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  4. 2011Hurricane Irene$6K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  5. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$20K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  6. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding27 households applied for aid$37K aid approved$90K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$29K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  2. 2003Ice Storm$10K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  3. 2002Snowstorms$12K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
  4. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$17K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in EdmestonOtsego County only

Otsego County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter 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 Edmeston after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Edmeston archive →
Next door

Edmeston and its neighbors

Edmeston is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Columbus: not gradedBrookfield: hazard risk CSouth Edmeston: not gradedBurlington: hazard risk C+Pittsfield: hazard risk C+Plainfield: not gradedBurlington Flats: not gradedColumbusBrookfieldSouth EdmestonBurlingtonPittsfieldPlainfieldBurlington FlatsEdmeston
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BurlingtonC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding—
PittsfieldC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding1
BrookfieldCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding3
EdmestonDmore damage than 86%river and rain flooding1
Columbus—849 residents; we grade 1,000+
South Edmeston—107 residents; we grade 1,000+
Plainfield—not graded yet
Burlington Flats—150 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Edmeston 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 Edmeston

Is Edmeston at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Edmeston has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). 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.

Does Edmeston flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Edmeston since 2006, $7K in all, or 1.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 74% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Edmeston 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 Otsego County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Edmeston?

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

By FEMA money that reached Edmeston, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 27 households applied for aid, $37K approved, and $90K to the Town of Edmeston for repairs.

Is Edmeston at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (97%), and Edmeston’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Edmeston.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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