Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Middleville
Middleville isn’t graded for hazard risk: Middleville has 652 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1980.
What Middleville 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.
Does Middleville flood? Sometimes: 11 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Middleville, from FEMA’s records.
Middleville 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.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Middleville
Disasters that paid out in Middleville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Middleville), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$47K to the Village of Middleville for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$149K to the Village of Middleville for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$7K to the Village of Middleville for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding18 households applied for aid$24K aid approved$49K to the Village of Middleville for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2002Snowstorms$2K to the Village of Middleville for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$30K to the Village of Middleville for repairs
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.
Old photos of Middleville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Middleville archive →Get ready for what Middleville 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 Middleville
Does Middleville flood?
Flood insurance has paid 11 claims in Middleville since 1980, $377K in all. 4 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Middleville 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 Middleville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Middleville’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 Middleville?
By FEMA money that reached Middleville, Severe Storms and Flooding (2013): $149K to the Village of Middleville for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Middleville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Middleville’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.