Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Red Hook faces less hazard damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Red Hook gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then hurricanes (14%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Red Hook 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
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Red Hook’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Red Hook, and Red Hook’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 14% (higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts).
A lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Red Hook’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $408K a year in losses across Red Hook: $349K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Red Hook flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Red Hook. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Red Hook isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dutchess County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Red Hook
Disasters that paid out in Red Hook itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Red Hook), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$18K to the Village of Red Hook for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene82 households applied for aid$195K aid approved$16K to the Village of Red Hook for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Village of Red Hook for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding14 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2003Snow$3K to the Village of Red Hook for repairs
Dutchess County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical 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 Red Hook after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Red Hook archive →Get ready for what Red Hook 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Red Hook
Is Red Hook at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Red Hook has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and hurricanes (14%). 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 Red Hook 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 Dutchess County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Red Hook?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Red Hook’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 Red Hook?
By FEMA money that reached Red Hook, Hurricane Irene (2011): 82 households applied for aid, $195K approved, and $16K to the Village of Red Hook for repairs.
Is Red Hook at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Red Hook’s rate for it is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Red Hook.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Red Hook’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.