Natural hazards · Adams

Adams, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Adams comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2026. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Adams?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Adams to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Cold waves6%Strong wind6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Adams faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Adams flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Adams, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2026

$5Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20262026

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Adams isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Adams

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Adams itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Adams.

Brought FEMA money into AdamsDeclared for Jefferson County only

2014

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$5K to the Town of Adams for repairs

1999

Snow

$7K to the Town of Adams for repairs

Jefferson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Adams

Adams and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ellisburgmostly inland floodingLow

Lorrainemostly inland floodingLow

Adamsmostly inland floodingLow

Hendersonmostly inland floodingLow

Rodmanmostly inland floodingVery low

Hounsfieldmostly inland floodingVery low

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Adams covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Adams’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Adams. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Adams total about $1.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.