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Town hall of Rathbone, New YorkPhoto: J. Passepartout · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rathbone · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Rathbone faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rathbone gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

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 60%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 60% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
96% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 19 declared for Steuben County
By hazard

What Rathbone 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 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Hail Wildfire Ice storms Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Rathbone’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rathbone, and Rathbone’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Rathbone sits
Rathbone
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Rathbone’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%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $332K a year in losses across Rathbone: $274K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rathbone’s 1,093 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Thurston town (1,253 residents) and Cameron town (899 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 Rathbone flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rathbone. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Rathbone 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 Rathbone

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

  1. 2021Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred$1.6M to the Town of Rathbone for repairs
  2. 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$183K to the Town of Rathbone for repairs
  3. 2011Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$19K to the Town of Rathbone for repairs
  4. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$63K to the Town of Rathbone for repairs
  5. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$50K to the Town of Rathbone for repairs
  6. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$271K to the Town of Rathbone for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in RathboneSteuben 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 Rathbone after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Rathbone archive →
Next door

Rathbone and its neighbors

Rathbone has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Addison: hazard risk C−Cameron: not gradedWoodhull: hazard risk C−Tuscarora: hazard risk C−AddisonCameronWoodhullTuscaroraRathbone
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RathboneC+more damage than 60%river and rain flooding0
WoodhullC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding2
TuscaroraC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding9
AddisonC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding4
Cameron—not graded yet

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 Rathbone 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 Rathbone

Is Rathbone at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rathbone has higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. 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.

Is Rathbone 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 Rathbone?

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

By FEMA money that reached Rathbone, Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred (2021): $1.6M to the Town of Rathbone for repairs.

Is Rathbone at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Rathbone’s rate for it is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rathbone.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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