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EllenburgDepotFireDepartment0029Photo: עדירל · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Ellenburg · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Ellenburg as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ellenburg gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 2001.

River and rain flooding 86%Earthquakes 9%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 52%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 52% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
9
paid since 2001 · $505K
Flooded more than once
2
properties
Disasters paid out here
2
of 13 declared for Clinton County
By hazard

What Ellenburg 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

86%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms Strong wind Hurricanes Tornadoes Winter storms Lightning Wildfire Hail 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 Ellenburg’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ellenburg, and Ellenburg’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Ellenburg sits
Ellenburg
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Earthquakes9%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $559K a year in losses across Ellenburg: $479K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Ellenburg’s 1,842 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Dannemora town (4,037 residents) and Clinton town (652 residents) and Lyon Mountain CDP (421 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 Ellenburg flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 2001

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ellenburg, from FEMA’s records: 7.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 69% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2001: 1 claim2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 1 claim2010: 2 claims2011: 3 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200120102011
20012026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene2 claims · $49K
9
paid claims since 2001
$505K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$56K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Clinton County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1flood-prone property bought out and cleared
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ellenburg

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$505K to the Town of Ellenburg for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$17K to the Town of Ellenburg for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in EllenburgClinton County only

Clinton County has had 13 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 Ellenburg after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Ellenburg archive →
Next door

Ellenburg and its neighbors

Ellenburg is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Clinton: not gradedBellmont: hazard risk C+Altona: hazard risk CDannemora: hazard risk B−ClintonBellmontAltonaDannemoraEllenburg
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
DannemoraB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding—
EllenburgB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding9
BellmontC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding1
AltonaCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding4
Clinton—574 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 Ellenburg 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Ellenburg

Is Ellenburg at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ellenburg has lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and earthquakes (9%). 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 Ellenburg flood?

Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Ellenburg since 2001, $505K in all, or 7.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 69% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (2).

Is Ellenburg 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 Clinton County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Ellenburg?

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

By FEMA money that reached Ellenburg, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $505K to the Town of Ellenburg for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 2 paid, $49K.

Is Ellenburg at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Ellenburg’s rate for it is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ellenburg.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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