Natural hazards · Orleans

Orleans, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Orleans comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1979. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Orleans?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Orleans to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding67%Cold waves10%Strong wind7%Earthquakes6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Orleans faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Orleans flood?

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

3paid claims since 1979

$39Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Orleans

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OrleansDeclared for Jefferson County only

2017

Flooding

$4K to the Town of Orleans for repairs

1999

Snow

$5K to the Town of Orleans for repairs

Jefferson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Orleans

Orleans and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Theresamostly inland floodingHigh

Brownvillemostly inland floodingLow

Alexandriamostly inland floodingLow

Claytonmostly inland floodingVery low

Le Raymostly inland floodingVery low

Orleansmostly inland floodingVery low

Pameliamostly 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. Orleans covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Orleans’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Orleans. 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 Orleans total about $885K 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.