Natural hazards · Chatham

Chatham, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chatham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2000. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chatham?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chatham to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Tornadoes10%Hurricanes9%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Chatham faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 79 years in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Chatham flood?

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

1paid claims since 2000

$683paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20002026

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Chatham 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 Chatham

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChathamDeclared for Columbia County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

17 households applied for aid $37K aid approved $4K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

2008

Severe Winter Storm

$29K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$5K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

2003

Snow

$4K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

2002

Snowstorms

$6K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the Village of Chatham for repairs

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

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