Photo: Roadskater · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Stuyvesant’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 62% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stuyvesant gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1984.
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 Stuyvesant 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
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 Stuyvesant’s grade
River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Stuyvesant, and Stuyvesant’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 6% (higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts).
B lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Stuyvesant’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $655K a year in losses across Stuyvesant: $513K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Stuyvesant flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Stuyvesant, from FEMA’s records: 12.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 78% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Sandy4 claims · $253K
- Hurricane Irene4 claims · $141K
- The Torrential rain1 claim · $3K
Stuyvesant isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Stuyvesant
Disasters that paid out in Stuyvesant itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Stuyvesant), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$11K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene12 households applied for aid$23K aid approved$26K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs4 flood claims paid for it, $141K
- 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$15K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$104K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$37K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$33K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 10
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes5 households applied for aid$579 aid approved
- 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
- 2002Snowstorms$13K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs
Columbia County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter 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 Stuyvesant after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Stuyvesant archive →Stuyvesant and its neighbors
Stuyvesant has the lowest expected damage per building of the 7 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuyvesant | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Kinderhook | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Schodack | B−more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| New Baltimore | C+more damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Coxsackie | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Coxsackie | C+more damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Stockport | Cmore damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 22 |
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.
Get ready for what Stuyvesant 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.
- 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 Stuyvesant
Is Stuyvesant at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stuyvesant has lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and hurricanes (6%). 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 Stuyvesant flood?
Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Stuyvesant since 1984, $541K in all, or 12.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 78% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (4).
Is Stuyvesant 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 Columbia County, 0.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Stuyvesant?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Stuyvesant’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 Stuyvesant?
By FEMA money that reached Stuyvesant, Severe Winter Storm (2008): $104K to the Town of Stuyvesant for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 4 paid, $253K.
Is Stuyvesant at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Stuyvesant’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stuyvesant.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Stuyvesant’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.