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Natural hazards · Grafton

Grafton, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Grafton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1982. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Grafton?

15
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Grafton to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding60%Tornadoes13%Hurricanes8%Hail7%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Grafton faces

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

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Grafton flood?

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

1paid claims since 1982
$102paid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19822026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Grafton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rensselaer County.
Disasters that hit Grafton

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GraftonDeclared for Rensselaer County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$10K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

2 households applied for aid $670K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$21K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm

$71K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$46K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
2002

Snowstorms

$14K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$99K to the Town of Grafton for repairs
Rensselaer County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Grafton

Grafton and the towns around it

Poestenkill: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPittstown: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBrunswick: Low, mostly inland floodingPetersburgh: Very high, mostly inland floodingBerlin: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Greenbush: Low, mostly inland floodingSand Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingSchaghticoke: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHoosick: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCambridge: Low, mostly inland floodingTroy: High, mostly inland floodingPownal: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBennington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStephentown: High, mostly inland floodingGrafton: Very low, mostly inland flooding GraftonPoestenkillPittstownBrunswickPetersburghBerlin
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Petersburghmostly inland floodingVery high
Berlinmostly inland floodingHigh
Poestenkillmostly inland floodingModerate
Pittstownmostly inland floodingModerate
Brunswickmostly inland floodingLow
Graftonmostly 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. Grafton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Grafton’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Grafton. 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 Grafton total about $472K 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.

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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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