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 48 claims here since 1978. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dunkirk?

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 flooding67%Tornadoes11%Cold waves8%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

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

67% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailIce 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 Dunkirk flood?

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

48paid claims since 1978

$564Kpaid to owners

7homes flooded more than once

19782026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DunkirkDeclared for Chautauqua County only

2019

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$763K to the City of Dunkirk for repairs

2014

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$73K to the City of Dunkirk for repairs

2014

Severe Storms and Flooding

$56K to the City of Dunkirk for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$30K to the City of Dunkirk for repairs

2001

Snow

$33K to the City of Dunkirk for repairs

2000

Snow

$10K to the City of Dunkirk for repairs

1999

Snow

$25K to the City 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

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Dunkirkmostly 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 covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

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 City of Dunkirk. 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 Dunkirk total about $1.9M 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.