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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Prattsburgh · FEMA

FEMA puts Prattsburgh’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prattsburgh gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower 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 3 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 95%Hurricanes 2%Tornadoes 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

less than 69%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in New York · lower than 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 1996 · $23K
Disasters paid out here
6
of 19 declared for Steuben County
By hazard

What Prattsburgh 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
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Ice storms Earthquakes Hail 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 Prattsburgh’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Prattsburgh, and Prattsburgh’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Prattsburgh sits
Prattsburgh
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Prattsburgh’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 $516K a year in losses across Prattsburgh: $385K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Prattsburgh’s 1,983 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Wheeler town (1,136 residents) and Prattsburgh CDP (589 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 Prattsburgh flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Prattsburgh, from FEMA’s records: 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 1 claim1997: 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: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 1 claim199620242026
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Debby1 claim · $7K
3
paid claims since 1996
$23K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Prattsburgh 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.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Prattsburgh

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

  1. 2024Remnants of Tropical Storm Debby$2.3M to the Town of Prattsburgh for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $7K
  2. 2021Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred$50K to the Town of Prattsburgh for repairs
  3. 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$292K to the Town of Prattsburgh for repairs
  4. 2011Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$56K to the Town of Prattsburgh for repairs
  5. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$158K to the Town of Prattsburgh for repairs
  6. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes3 households applied for aid$763 aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PrattsburghSteuben 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 Prattsburgh after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Prattsburgh archive →
Next door

Prattsburgh and its neighbors

Prattsburgh is 2nd of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Cohocton: hazard risk B−Italy: hazard risk C−Pulteney: hazard risk B−Wheeler: hazard risk B+Urbana: hazard risk CCohoctonItalyPulteneyWheelerUrbanaPrattsburgh
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WheelerB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding2
PrattsburghB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding3
CohoctonB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding1
PulteneyB−more damage than 55%river and rain flooding12
UrbanaCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding12
ItalyC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding2

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 Prattsburgh 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 Prattsburgh

Is Prattsburgh at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prattsburgh has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ 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 Prattsburgh flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Prattsburgh since 1996, $23K in all, or 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Debby (1).

Is Prattsburgh 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 Prattsburgh?

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

By FEMA money that reached Prattsburgh, Remnants of Tropical Storm Debby (2024): $2.3M to the Town of Prattsburgh for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Debby: 1 paid, $7K.

Is Prattsburgh at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Prattsburgh’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Prattsburgh.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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