Natural hazards · Bolivar

Bolivar, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bolivar comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2021. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bolivar?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bolivar to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding82%Tornadoes5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Bolivar faces

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

Inland flooding

82% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Bolivar flood?

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

1paid claims since 2021

$20Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20212026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Allegany County.

Disasters that hit Bolivar

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BolivarDeclared for Allegany County only

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

11 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Allegany County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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. Bolivar is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.