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Painted Post StatuePhoto: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Painted Post · FEMA

FEMA puts Painted Post’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Painted Post gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1982.

River and rain flooding 97%Hurricanes 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 82%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 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
97% of expected building damage
Flood claims
9
paid since 1982 · $211K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Disasters paid out here
3
of 19 declared for Steuben County
By hazard

What Painted Post 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

97%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Hail Ice storms Wildfire Winter storms 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 Painted Post’s grade

River and rain flooding is 97% of the building damage FEMA expects in Painted Post, and Painted Post’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Painted Post sits
Painted Post
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding97%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $953K a year in losses across Painted Post: $827K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Painted Post’s 1,768 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 Painted Post flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 1982

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Painted Post, from FEMA’s records: 9.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 73% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1982: 2 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: 5 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 1 claim2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 1 claim2013: 0 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 claims198219962003
19822026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Sandy1 claim · $126K
9
paid claims since 1982
$211K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$23K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Steuben County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Painted Post

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

  1. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
  2. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes58 households applied for aid$75K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
  3. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the Village of Painted Post for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Painted PostSteuben County only

Steuben County has had 19 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 Painted Post after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Painted Post archive →
Next door

Painted Post and its neighbors

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

Gang Mills: not gradedCorning: hazard risk BErwin: hazard risk CGang MillsCorningErwinPainted Post
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
CorningBless damage than 64%river and rain flooding8
ErwinCmore damage than 65%river and rain flooding30
Painted PostC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding9
Gang Mills—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town

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 Painted Post 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 Painted Post

Is Painted Post at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Painted Post has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). 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 Painted Post flood?

Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Painted Post since 1982, $211K in all, or 9.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 73% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (1).

Is Painted Post 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 Steuben County, 1.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Painted Post?

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

By FEMA money that reached Painted Post, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes (2003): 58 households applied for aid, $75K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 1 paid, $126K.

Is Painted Post at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (97%), and Painted Post’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Painted Post.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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