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Hepburn LibraryHepburn Library · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Norfolk · FEMA

FEMA puts Norfolk’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Norfolk gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, #604 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 88%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

more than 63%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#604 of 758 in New York
Hazard risk
C+#604 of 758
in New York · higher than 63% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
1
of 13 declared for St. Lawrence County
By hazard

What Norfolk 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

88%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms Strong wind Hurricanes Tornadoes Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 16% of Norfolk’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 Norfolk’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Norfolk, and Norfolk’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Norfolk sits
Norfolk
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ #604 of 758 in New York; higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Earthquakes9%Everything else3%

The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Norfolk has more expected damage per building than 80% of New York towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Norfolk: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Norfolk’s 4,453 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Norfolk CDP (1,238 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 Norfolk flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Norfolk. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: St. Lawrence County.
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Norfolk

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

  1. 1999Snow$3K to the Town of Norfolk for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in NorfolkSt. Lawrence County only

St. Lawrence County has had 13 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Norfolk after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Norfolk archive →
Next door

Norfolk and its neighbors

Norfolk is 7th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Louisville: hazard risk B−Potsdam: hazard risk B+Stockholm: hazard risk B−Massena: hazard risk B−Madrid: hazard risk BBrasher: hazard risk B−LouisvillePotsdamStockholmMassenaMadridBrasherNorfolk
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
PotsdamB+less damage than 75%river and rain flooding1
MadridBless damage than 65%river and rain flooding2
MassenaB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding1
LouisvilleB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding8
StockholmB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding5
BrasherB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding4
NorfolkC+more damage than 63%river and rain flooding0

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 Norfolk 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 Norfolk

Is Norfolk at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Norfolk has higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #604 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) 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.

Is Norfolk 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 St. Lawrence County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Norfolk?

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

By FEMA money that reached Norfolk, Snow (1999): $3K to the Town of Norfolk for repairs.

Is Norfolk at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Norfolk’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Norfolk.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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