Natural hazards · Carthage

Carthage, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Carthage comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 1984. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Carthage?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Carthage to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Carthage 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 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce 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 Carthage flood?

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

17paid claims since 1984

$79Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19842026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Carthage

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CarthageDeclared for Jefferson County only

2014

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$7K to the Village of Carthage for repairs

1999

Snow

$4K to the Village of Carthage for repairs

Jefferson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Carthage

Carthage and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Carthagemostly inland floodingHigh

Wilnamostly inland floodingHigh

Denmarkmostly inland floodingLow

Championmostly inland floodingVery low

West Carthagemostly inland floodingVery low

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