Natural hazards · Elba

Elba, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elba comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elba?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elba to be higher than in 5% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding57%Lightning8%Drought8%Strong wind7%Cold waves5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Elba faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lightning

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslides

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Elba flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Elba.

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Genesee County.

Disasters that hit Elba

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElbaDeclared for Genesee County only

2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $13K to the Village of Elba for repairs

1999

Snow

$2K to the Village of Elba for repairs

Genesee County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe 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. Elba 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 Elba’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Elba. 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.