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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Riga · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Riga than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Riga gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #95 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1994.

River and rain flooding 95%Earthquakes 2%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

less than 94%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#95 of 758 in New York
Hazard risk
A#95 of 758
in New York · lower than 94% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1994 · $1K
Disasters paid out here
1
of 15 declared for Monroe County
By hazard

What Riga 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
Below average · lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Tornadoes Ice storms Strong wind Hurricanes Winter storms Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 13% of Riga’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Riga’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Riga, and Riga’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Riga sits
Riga
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A #95 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Riga’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%

The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Riga has less expected damage per building than 88% of New York towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Riga: $821K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Riga’s 5,586 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Churchville village (2,091 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 Riga flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1994

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Riga, from FEMA’s records: 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 92% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1994: 1 claim1995: 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 claims1994
19942026
1
paid claims since 1994
$1K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$1K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Monroe County.
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Riga

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

  1. 1999Snow$2K to the Town of Riga for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in RigaMonroe County only

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

Add to the Riga archive →
Next door

Riga and its neighbors

Riga is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Bergen: hazard risk A+Chili: hazard risk AWheatland: hazard risk BLe Roy: hazard risk BOgden: hazard risk A+BergenChiliWheatlandLe RoyOgdenRiga
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
OgdenA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding6
BergenA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding2
ChiliAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding23
RigaAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding1
Le RoyBless damage than 64%river and rain flooding4
WheatlandBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding19

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 Riga 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 Riga

Is Riga at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Riga has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #95 of 758 in New York. 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 Riga flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Riga since 1994, $1K in all, or 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 92% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Riga 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 Monroe County, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Riga?

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

By FEMA money that reached Riga, Snow (1999): $2K to the Town of Riga for repairs.

Is Riga at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Riga’s rate for it is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Riga.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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