Natural hazards · Ithaca

Ithaca, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ithaca comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 66 claims here since 1978. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ithaca?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ithaca to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding92%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Ithaca faces

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

Inland flooding

92% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once 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 Ithaca flood?

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

66paid claims since 1978

$188Kpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 2 claims, $13K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tompkins County.

Disasters that hit Ithaca

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into IthacaDeclared for Tompkins County only

2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$36K to the City of Ithaca for repairs

2011

Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee

$138K to the City of Ithaca for repairs

Tompkins County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Ithaca

Ithaca and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ithacamostly inland floodingVery high

Cayuga Heightsmostly inland floodingLow

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. Ithaca covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ithaca’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ithaca. 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 Ithaca total about $9.3M 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.