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Frankfort, New York Town HallPhoto: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Frankfort · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Frankfort faces more hazard damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Frankfort gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1981.

River and rain flooding 95%Hurricanes 1%Tornadoes 1%

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 68%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C
in New York · higher than 68% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
7
paid since 1981 · $23K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Disasters paid out here
9
of 18 declared for Herkimer County
By hazard

What Frankfort 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Winter storms Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 Frankfort’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Frankfort, and Frankfort’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Frankfort sits
Frankfort
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $829K a year in losses across Frankfort: $729K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Frankfort’s 2,320 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Frankfort flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 1981

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Frankfort, from FEMA’s records: 5.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 63% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1981: 1 claim1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 4 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 2 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 claims198120112013
19812026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Lee3 claims · $12K
  • Hurricane Irene1 claim · $2K
7
paid claims since 1981
$23K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$3K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Herkimer County.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Frankfort

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

  1. 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$1.2M to the Village of Frankfort for repairs
  2. 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs
  3. 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$88K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs
  4. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$593K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  5. 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee14 households applied for aid$9K aid approved3 flood claims paid for it, $12K
  6. 2011Hurricane Irene49 households applied for aid$71K aid approved$8K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $2K
Show all 9
  1. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding24 households applied for aid$17K aid approved$33K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs
  2. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$19K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs
  3. 2002Snowstorms$8K to the Village of Frankfort for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in FrankfortHerkimer County only

Herkimer County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. 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 Frankfort after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Frankfort archive →
Next door

Frankfort and its neighbors

Frankfort is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Frankfort: hazard risk BSchuyler: hazard risk AFrankfortSchuylerFrankfort
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SchuylerAless damage than 93%river and rain flooding3
FrankfortBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding4
FrankfortCmore damage than 68%river and rain flooding7

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 Frankfort 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 Frankfort

Is Frankfort at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Frankfort has higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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 Frankfort flood?

Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Frankfort since 1981, $23K in all, or 5.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 63% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (3).

Is Frankfort 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 Herkimer County, 1.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Frankfort?

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

By FEMA money that reached Frankfort, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2019): $1.2M to the Village of Frankfort for repairs. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 3 paid, $12K.

Is Frankfort at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Frankfort’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Frankfort.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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