TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
CanaanGood afternoon
Natural hazards · Canaan

Canaan, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Canaan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Canaan?

45
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Canaan to be higher than in 45% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding75%Tornadoes8%Hurricanes8%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Canaan faces

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

Inland flooding

75% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 87 years in the area

Hurricanes

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Canaan flood?

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

3paid claims since 1978
$34Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19782026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Canaan isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.
Disasters that hit Canaan

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CanaanDeclared for Columbia County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$12K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

3 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $65K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$13K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm

$77K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$103K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$9K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2003

Snow

$5K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2002

Snowstorms

$10K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$146K to the Town of Canaan for repairs
Columbia County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Around Canaan

Canaan and the towns around it

Chatham: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAusterlitz: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Lebanon: Moderate, mostly inland floodingKinderhook: Low, mostly inland floodingNassau: High, mostly inland floodingGhent: Low, mostly inland floodingHillsdale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStephentown: High, mostly inland floodingCanaan: Moderate, mostly inland flooding CanaanChathamAusterlitzNew Lebanon
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
New Lebanonmostly inland floodingModerate
Chathammostly inland floodingModerate
Austerlitzmostly inland floodingModerate
Canaanmostly 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. Canaan covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Canaan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Canaan. 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 Canaan total about $941K 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 Canaan, NYColumbia CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Canaan 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/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map