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Natural hazards · Great Valley

Great Valley, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Great Valley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Great Valley?

76
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Great Valley to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Great Valley faces

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

Inland flooding

88% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% 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 Great Valley flood?

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

15paid claims since 1979
$135Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Late summer storms: 1 claim, $15K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Great ValleyDeclared for Cattaraugus County only
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $3K to the Town of Great Valley for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$12K to the Town of Great Valley for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$104K to the Town of Great Valley for repairs
1999

Snow

$4K to the Town of Great Valley for repairs
Cattaraugus County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Great Valley

Great Valley and the towns around it

Salamanca: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHumphrey: High, mostly inland floodingLittle Valley: High, mostly inland floodingCarrollton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEllicottville: High, mostly inland floodingSalamanca: High, mostly inland floodingIschua: High, mostly inland floodingFranklinville: High, mostly inland floodingAllegany: High, mostly inland floodingHinsdale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMansfield: High, mostly inland floodingNapoli: High, mostly inland floodingRed House: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAshford: High, mostly inland floodingEast Otto: High, mostly inland floodingMachias: High, mostly inland floodingGreat Valley: High, mostly inland flooding Great ValleySalamancaHumphreyLittle ValleyCarrolltonEllicottvilleSalamanca
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Little Valleymostly inland floodingHigh
Salamancamostly inland floodingHigh
Great Valleymostly inland floodingHigh
Humphreymostly inland floodingHigh
Ellicottvillemostly inland floodingHigh
Carrolltonmostly inland floodingModerate
Salamancamostly 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. Great Valley 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 Great Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Great Valley. 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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