Natural hazards · Dexter

Dexter, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dexter comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dexter?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dexter to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Cold waves8%Strong wind6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Dexter faces

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

Inland flooding

74% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Dexter flood?

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

2paid claims since 1979

$5Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Dexter 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 Dexter

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DexterDeclared for Jefferson County only

2019

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$12K to the Village of Dexter for repairs

2017

Flooding

$2.1M to the Village of Dexter for repairs

2014

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$4K to the Village of Dexter for repairs

1999

Snow

$2K to the Village of Dexter for repairs

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

Around Dexter

Dexter and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Dextermostly inland floodingLow

Brownvillemostly inland floodingLow

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