Natural hazards · Ontario

Ontario, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ontario comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2006. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ontario?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ontario to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding80%Everything else20%

By hazard

What Ontario faces

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

Inland flooding

80% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ontario flood?

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

2paid claims since 2006

$20Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20062026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wayne County.

Disasters that hit Ontario

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OntarioDeclared for Wayne County only

2017

Flooding

$441K to the Town of Ontario for repairs

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $196 aid approved

2003

Ice Storm

148 households applied for aid $101K aid approved $68K to the Town of Ontario for repairs

1999

Snow

$14K to the Town of Ontario for repairs

Wayne County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Ontario

Ontario and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ontariomostly inland floodingLow

Williamsonmostly inland floodingVery low

Walworthmostly inland floodingVery low

Webstermostly 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. Ontario covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ontario’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ontario. 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 Ontario total about $2.0M 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.