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Natural hazards · Dunkirk

Dunkirk, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dunkirk comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 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 Dunkirk?

8
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dunkirk to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding75%Tornadoes8%Cold waves5%Everything else12%
By hazard

What Dunkirk 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
Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Dunkirk flood?

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

5paid claims since 1979
$24Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19792026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Dunkirk isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Chautauqua County.
Disasters that hit Dunkirk

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DunkirkDeclared for Chautauqua County only
2014

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$4K to the Town of Dunkirk for repairs
2001

Snow

$4K to the Town of Dunkirk for repairs
2000

Snow

$1K to the Town of Dunkirk for repairs
1999

Snow

$4K to the Town of Dunkirk for repairs
Chautauqua County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Dunkirk

Dunkirk and the towns around it

Dunkirk: Very low, mostly inland floodingPomfret: Low, mostly inland floodingSheridan: Very low, mostly inland floodingPortland: Low, mostly inland floodingArkwright: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFredonia: Low, mostly inland floodingStockton: High, mostly inland floodingHanover: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSilver Creek: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDunkirk: Very low, mostly inland flooding DunkirkDunkirkPomfretSheridan
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Pomfretmostly inland floodingLow
Dunkirkmostly inland floodingVery low
Dunkirkmostly inland floodingVery low
Sheridanmostly 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. Dunkirk 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 Dunkirk’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Dunkirk. 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.

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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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