Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Plainfield
Plainfield isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Plainfield yet.
What Plainfield 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 Plainfield flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Plainfield. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Plainfield 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.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Plainfield
Disasters that paid out in Plainfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Plainfield), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$3K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$29K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$10K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$47K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$111K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$77K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
Show all 10
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2003Ice Storm$3K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2002Snowstorms$5K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$21K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
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.
Old photos of Plainfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Plainfield archive →Plainfield and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winfield | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Bridgewater | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Burlington | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Brookfield | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Richfield | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Edmeston | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Unadilla Forks | — | 190 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Exeter | — | 913 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.
Get ready for what Plainfield 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 Plainfield
Is Plainfield 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 Plainfield?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Plainfield’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 Plainfield?
By FEMA money that reached Plainfield, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): $111K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Plainfield.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Plainfield’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.