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CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Phoenix · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Phoenix than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Phoenix gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1983.

River and rain flooding 95%Ice storms 2%Earthquakes 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 69%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 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1983 · $624
Disasters paid out here
4
of 15 declared for Oswego County
By hazard

What Phoenix 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms Earthquakes Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes Hail Winter storms Wildfire 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 Phoenix’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Phoenix, and Phoenix’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Phoenix sits
Phoenix
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $692K a year in losses across Phoenix: $632K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Phoenix’s 2,226 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 Phoenix flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1983

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Phoenix, from FEMA’s records: 0.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1983: 1 claim1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 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 claims1983
19832026
1
paid claims since 1983
$624
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$624
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Oswego County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Phoenix

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

  1. 2024Severe Storm and Flooding$3K to the Village of Phoenix for repairs
  2. 2007Record Snow and Near Record Snow$2K to the Village of Phoenix for repairs
  3. 2004Snow$5K to the Village of Phoenix for repairs
  4. 2003Ice Storm110 households applied for aid$63K aid approved$57K to the Village of Phoenix for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PhoenixOswego County only

Oswego County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, 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 Phoenix after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Phoenix archive →
Next door

Phoenix and its neighbors

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

Lysander: hazard risk BSchroeppel: hazard risk CLysanderSchroeppelPhoenix
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
LysanderBless damage than 61%river and rain flooding45
SchroeppelCmore damage than 65%river and rain flooding11
PhoenixCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding1

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 Phoenix 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 Phoenix

Is Phoenix at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Phoenix has higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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 Phoenix flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Phoenix since 1983, $624 in all, or 0.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Phoenix 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 Oswego County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Phoenix?

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

By FEMA money that reached Phoenix, Ice Storm (2003): 110 households applied for aid, $63K approved, and $57K to the Village of Phoenix for repairs.

Is Phoenix at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Phoenix’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Phoenix.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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