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Natural hazards · Caroline

Caroline, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Caroline comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 18 claims here since 1981. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Caroline?

78
High
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding90%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Caroline faces

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

Inland flooding

90% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Caroline flood?

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

18paid claims since 1981
$75Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19812026

Biggest named events

  • Tropical Storm Lee: 1 claim, $3K
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Caroline isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tompkins County.
Disasters that hit Caroline

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CarolineDeclared for Tompkins County only
2011

Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee

$372K to the Town of Caroline for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$115K to the Town of Caroline for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the Town of Caroline for repairs
Tompkins County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Caroline

Caroline and the towns around it

Richford: High, mostly inland floodingBerkshire: High, mostly inland floodingDanby: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDryden: High, mostly inland floodingCandor: High, mostly inland floodingLisle: High, mostly inland floodingNewark Valley: High, mostly inland floodingNanticoke: High, mostly inland floodingNewfield: High, mostly inland floodingSpencer: High, mostly inland floodingIthaca: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGroton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingVirgil: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLansing: Very low, mostly inland floodingLansing: Low, mostly inland floodingOwego: High, mostly inland floodingTioga: High, mostly inland floodingCaroline: High, mostly inland flooding CarolineRichfordBerkshireDanbyDrydenCandor
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Carolinemostly inland floodingHigh
Drydenmostly inland floodingHigh
Candormostly inland floodingHigh
Richfordmostly inland floodingHigh
Berkshiremostly inland floodingHigh
Danbymostly 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. Caroline covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Caroline’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Caroline. 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 Caroline total about $1.4M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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