Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Otsego

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Chapin Memorial ChurchChapin Memorial Church · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Otsego · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Otsego than in 66% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Otsego gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns, #622 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1986.

River and rain flooding 96%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 66%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#622 of 758 in New York
Hazard risk
C#622 of 758
in New York · higher than 66% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
96% of expected building damage
Flood claims
8
paid since 1986 · $40K
Disasters paid out here
7
of 20 declared for Otsego County
By hazard

What Otsego 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 11% of Otsego’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 Otsego’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Otsego, and Otsego’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Otsego sits
Otsego
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C #622 of 758 in New York; higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Otsego has more expected damage per building than 82% of New York towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Otsego: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Otsego’s 3,641 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Fly Creek CDP (270 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 Otsego flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1986

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Otsego, from FEMA’s records: 3.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 52% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1986: 1 claim1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 1 claim1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 1 claim2000: 1 claim2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 2 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198619932006
19862026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene1 claim · $16K
8
paid claims since 1986
$40K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$5K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Otsego County.
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Otsego

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

  1. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$42K to the Town of Otsego for repairs
  2. 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee$6K to the Town of Otsego for repairs
  3. 2011Hurricane Irene$3K to the Town of Otsego for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $16K
  4. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$73K to the Town of Otsego for repairs
  5. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$527K to the Town of Otsego for repairs
  6. 2003Ice Storm$11K to the Town of Otsego for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 2002Snowstorms$17K to the Town of Otsego for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in OtsegoOtsego County only

Otsego County has had 20 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 Otsego after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Otsego archive →
Next door

Otsego and its neighbors

Otsego is 3rd of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Middlefield: hazard risk C−Hartwick: hazard risk C−Exeter: not gradedSchuyler Lake: not gradedSpringfield: hazard risk B−Burlington: hazard risk C+Richfield: hazard risk C−Hartwick Seminary: not gradedMiddlefieldHartwickExeterSchuyler LakeSpringfieldBurlingtonRichfieldHartwick SeminaryOtsego
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SpringfieldB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding—
BurlingtonC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding—
OtsegoCmore damage than 66%river and rain flooding8
HartwickC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding1
RichfieldC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding15
MiddlefieldC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding4
Exeter—913 residents; we grade 1,000+
Schuyler Lake—83 residents; we grade 1,000+
Hartwick Seminary—338 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 Otsego 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 Otsego

Is Otsego at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Otsego has higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #622 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). 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 Otsego flood?

Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Otsego since 1986, $40K in all, or 3.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 52% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (1).

Is Otsego 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 Otsego County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Otsego?

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

By FEMA money that reached Otsego, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): $527K to the Town of Otsego for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 1 paid, $16K.

Is Otsego at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Otsego’s rate for it is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Otsego.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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