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Natural hazards · Otto

Otto, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Otto comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Otto?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Otto to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding86%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Otto faces

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

Inland flooding

86% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

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 Otto flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Otto.

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Otto isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cattaraugus County.
Disasters that hit Otto

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OttoDeclared for Cattaraugus County only
2014

Severe Storms and Flooding

$1.8M to the Town of Otto for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $996 aid approved $411K to the Town of Otto for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
2001

Snow

$10K to the Town of Otto for repairs
2000

Snow

$5K to the Town of Otto for repairs
1999

Snow

$5K to the Town of Otto for repairs
Cattaraugus County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Otto

Otto and the towns around it

Persia: High, mostly inland floodingCollins: Low, mostly inland floodingEast Otto: High, mostly inland floodingMansfield: High, mostly inland floodingGowanda: High, mostly inland floodingDayton: Low, mostly inland floodingPerrysburg: High, mostly inland floodingNew Albion: Low, mostly inland floodingNorth Collins: Very low, mostly inland floodingConcord: Low, mostly inland floodingAshford: High, mostly inland floodingEllicottville: High, mostly inland floodingLittle Valley: High, mostly inland floodingOtto: High, mostly inland flooding OttoPersiaCollinsEast OttoMansfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Mansfieldmostly inland floodingHigh
Persiamostly inland floodingHigh
Ottomostly inland floodingHigh
East Ottomostly inland floodingHigh
Collinsmostly 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. Otto is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Otto’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Otto. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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