Northwest Ithaca is calmer than 71% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Northwest Ithaca comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1993.
What stands out about Northwest Ithaca’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Northwest Ithaca?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 967 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Northwest Ithaca covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Does Northwest Ithaca flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Northwest Ithaca, from FEMA’s records.
Northwest 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.What Northwest Ithaca faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Tompkins County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Northwest Ithaca itself in FEMA’s records.
Tompkins County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Get ready for what Northwest Ithaca actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Northwest Ithaca and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca | Very high | inland flooding | 66 |
| Northwest Ithaca | Low | inland flooding | 2 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in May–July
The month each of Tompkins County’s 16 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Northwest Ithaca’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Northwest Ithaca.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Northwest Ithaca, expected losses total about $785K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Northwest Ithaca.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.