Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Woodmere
Woodmere isn’t graded for hazard risk: Woodmere has 641 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Woodmere 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
Tornadoes
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.
Does Woodmere flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Woodmere. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Woodmere isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cuyahoga County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Woodmere
Disasters that paid out in Woodmere itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Woodmere), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2006Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$673 aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding7 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
- 2003Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds4 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
Cuyahoga County has had 15 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.
Old photos of Woodmere after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Woodmere archive →Woodmere and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beachwood | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Orange | A+less damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Pepper Pike | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
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 Woodmere 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Woodmere
Is Woodmere 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 Cuyahoga County, 38% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Woodmere?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Woodmere’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 Woodmere?
By FEMA money that reached Woodmere, Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds (2003): 4 households applied for aid, $6K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Woodmere.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Woodmere’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.