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A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Somerset · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Somerset than in 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Somerset gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #28 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 89%Strong wind 3%Earthquakes 3%

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 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#28 of 758 in New York
Hazard risk
A+#28 of 758
in New York · lower than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1979 · $446
Disasters paid out here
3
of 20 declared for Niagara County
By hazard

What Somerset 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

89%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Tornadoes Hurricanes Hail Coastal flooding Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Somerset’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Somerset, and Somerset’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Somerset sits
Somerset
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #28 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Somerset’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Strong wind3%Everything else8%

The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Somerset has less expected damage per building than 96% of New York towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $422K a year in losses across Somerset: $340K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Somerset’s 2,597 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Barker village (575 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 Somerset flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Somerset, from FEMA’s records: 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 84% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 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 claims1979
19792026
1
paid claims since 1979
$446
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$446
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Niagara County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Somerset

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

  1. 2022Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$22K to the Town of Somerset for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$4K to the Town of Somerset for repairs
  3. 1999Snow$5K to the Town of Somerset for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SomersetNiagara County only

Niagara County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. 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 Somerset after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Somerset archive →
Next door

Somerset and its neighbors

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

Hartland: hazard risk ANewfane: hazard risk A+Yates: hazard risk A−HartlandNewfaneYatesSomerset
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SomersetA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding1
NewfaneA+less damage than 96%river and rain flooding5
HartlandAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding—
YatesA−less damage than 82%river and rain flooding1

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 Somerset 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 Somerset

Is Somerset at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Somerset has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #28 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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 Somerset flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Somerset since 1979, $446 in all, or 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 84% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Somerset 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 Niagara County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Somerset?

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

By FEMA money that reached Somerset, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (2022): $22K to the Town of Somerset for repairs.

Is Somerset at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Somerset’s rate for it is lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Somerset.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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