Natural hazards · Lewis

Lewis, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lewis comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1996. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lewis?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lewis to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and avalanches.

Inland flooding56%Avalanches30%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Lewis faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Avalanches

30% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 0% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 30 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Lewis flood?

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

3paid claims since 1996

$81Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $25K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Essex County.

Disasters that hit Lewis

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LewisDeclared for Essex County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

11 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

$21K to the Town of Lewis for repairs

2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$28K to the Town of Lewis for repairs

Essex County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

Around Lewis

Lewis and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Jaymostly inland floodingHigh

Westportmostly inland floodingHigh

Willsboromostly inland floodingHigh

Chesterfieldmostly inland floodingHigh

Lewismostly inland floodingHigh

Essexmostly inland floodingHigh

Elizabethtownmostly 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. Lewis covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lewis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lewis. 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 Lewis total about $1.5M 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.