Natural hazards · Burns

Burns, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Burns comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1996. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Burns?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Burns to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Burns faces

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

Inland flooding

88% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Burns flood?

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

3paid claims since 1996

$11Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Burns 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 Burns

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BurnsDeclared for Allegany County only

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$27K to the Town of Burns for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$20K to the Town of Burns for repairs

2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$15K to the Town of Burns for repairs

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

Around Burns

Burns and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Burnsmostly inland floodingHigh

Almondmostly inland floodingHigh

Grovemostly inland floodingHigh

Birdsallmostly inland floodingHigh

Hornellsvillemostly inland floodingHigh

Ossianmostly inland floodingHigh

Dansvillemostly inland floodingModerate

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. Burns 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 Burns’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Burns. 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.