Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Saratoga than in 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Saratoga gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2010.
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 Saratoga 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 Saratoga’s grade
River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Saratoga, and Saratoga’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Saratoga’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Saratoga: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Saratoga flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 2010
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Saratoga, from FEMA’s records: 7.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Saratoga isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Carbon County.The storms Saratoga remembers
None of the 1 disasters declared for Carbon County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Saratoga itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20114 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides, declared for Carbon County
- 20102 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Carbon County has had 1 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Carbon County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Saratoga after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Saratoga archive →Get ready for what Saratoga 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 Saratoga
Is Saratoga at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Saratoga has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and wildfire (9%). 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 Saratoga flood?
Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Saratoga since 2010, $30K in all, or 7.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Saratoga 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 Carbon County, 0.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Saratoga?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Saratoga’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Saratoga at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Saratoga’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Saratoga.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Saratoga’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.