LeRay Mansion · Photo: Ahodges7 · CC BY-SA 4.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Le Ray than in 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Le Ray gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, #165 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Le Ray 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.
What’s behind Le Ray’s grade
River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Le Ray, and Le Ray’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
A #165 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Le Ray’s residents live in 8 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Le Ray has less expected damage per building than 78% of New York towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.4M a year in losses across Le Ray: $2.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Le Ray flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Le Ray. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Le Ray isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson County.The storms Le Ray remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Jefferson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Le Ray itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Jefferson County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Le Ray and its neighbors
Le Ray is 2nd of the 9 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pamelia | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Le Ray | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Champion | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Rutland | A−less damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Watertown | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Black River | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Watertown | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Philadelphia | C+more damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Theresa | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Fort Drum | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Great Bend | — | 938 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 Le Ray 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 Le Ray
Is Le Ray at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Le Ray has lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #165 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Le Ray 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 Jefferson County, 0.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Le Ray?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Le Ray’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Le Ray at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Le Ray’s rate for it is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Le Ray.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Le Ray’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.