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Natural hazards · Freetown

Freetown, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Freetown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Freetown?

67
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Freetown to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding86%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Freetown faces

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

Inland flooding

86% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce 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 Freetown flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Freetown isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cortland County.
Disasters that hit Freetown

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FreetownDeclared for Cortland County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$7K to the Town of Freetown for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$38K to the Town of Freetown for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$24K to the Town of Freetown for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$25K to the Town of Freetown for repairs
Cortland County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Freetown

Freetown and the towns around it

Marathon: High, mostly inland floodingSolon: High, mostly inland floodingVirgil: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCincinnatus: High, mostly inland floodingCortlandville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWillet: High, mostly inland floodingLapeer: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLisle: High, mostly inland floodingTaylor: High, mostly inland floodingTruxton: High, mostly inland floodingHarford: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDryden: High, mostly inland floodingHomer: High, mostly inland floodingSummerhill: High, mostly inland floodingGroton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFreetown: High, mostly inland flooding FreetownMarathonSolonVirgilCincinnatusCortlandville
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Freetownmostly inland floodingHigh
Marathonmostly inland floodingHigh
Cincinnatusmostly inland floodingHigh
Solonmostly inland floodingHigh
Virgilmostly inland floodingModerate
Cortlandvillemostly inland floodingModerate
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. Freetown 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 Freetown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Freetown. 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Freetown, NYCortland CountyView boundary

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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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