Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Pomeroy than in 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pomeroy gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%), then wildfire (10%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1979.
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 Pomeroy 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
Wildfire
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 Pomeroy’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pomeroy, and Pomeroy’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 10%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Pomeroy’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Pomeroy: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pomeroy flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pomeroy, from FEMA’s records: 1.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 70% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Pomeroy isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Garfield County.The storms Pomeroy remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Garfield County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pomeroy itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19791 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Garfield County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Garfield County, 2005–2005.
Old photos of Pomeroy after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pomeroy archive →Get ready for what Pomeroy 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Pomeroy
Is Pomeroy at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pomeroy has higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and wildfire (10%). 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 Pomeroy flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Pomeroy since 1979, $95 in all, or 1.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 70% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Pomeroy 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 Garfield County, 1.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Pomeroy?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pomeroy’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Pomeroy at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Pomeroy’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pomeroy.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pomeroy’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.