TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
BuffaloGood afternoon
Natural hazards · Buffalo

Buffalo, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Buffalo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 211 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Buffalo?

61
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Buffalo to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding73%Cold waves18%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Buffalo faces

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

Inland flooding

73% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Buffalo flood?

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

211paid claims since 1978
$864Kpaid to owners
9homes flooded more than once
19782026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (2) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Buffalo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Erie County.
Disasters that hit Buffalo

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BuffaloDeclared for Erie County only
2022

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$5.4M to the City of Buffalo for repairs
2019

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$625K to the City of Buffalo for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $10K aid approved
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

7,095 households applied for aid $2.8M aid approved
Erie County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Buffalo

Buffalo and the towns around it

Cheektowaga: Low, mostly inland floodingWest Seneca: High, mostly inland floodingAmherst: Low, mostly inland floodingLackawanna: High, mostly inland floodingTonawanda: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSloan: Very high, mostly inland floodingLancaster: Very low, mostly inland floodingWilliamsville: Low, mostly inland floodingOrchard Park: Low, mostly inland floodingElma: Low, mostly inland floodingPendleton: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Tonawanda: High, mostly inland floodingWheatfield: High, mostly inland floodingClarence: Low, mostly inland floodingHamburg: Low, mostly inland floodingBlasdell: Moderate, mostly inland floodingTonawanda: High, mostly inland floodingGrand Island: Very low, mostly inland floodingBuffalo: High, mostly inland flooding BuffaloCheektowagaWest SenecaAmherstLackawannaTonawandaSloan
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Sloanmostly inland floodingVery high
Lackawannamostly inland floodingHigh
West Senecamostly inland floodingHigh
Buffalomostly inland floodingHigh
Tonawandamostly inland floodingModerate
Amherstmostly inland floodingLow
Cheektowagamostly inland floodingLow
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. Buffalo covers 91 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Buffalo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Buffalo. 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 Buffalo total about $90.2M 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Buffalo, NYView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Buffalo is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map