Philmont’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Philmont comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Philmont’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Philmont flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Philmont. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Philmont isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.How exposed is Philmont?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 820 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Philmont is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Philmont faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Philmont
Disasters that paid out in Philmont itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Philmont) and its biggest flood years.
- 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene8 households applied for aid$8K aid approved$41K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$5K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$94K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$8K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
- 2003Snow$4K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
Show all 7
- 2002Snowstorms$9K to the Village of Philmont for repairs
Columbia County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Philmont after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Philmont archive →Get ready for what Philmont 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
Disasters here can come any time of year
The month each of Columbia County’s 20 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 Philmont’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Philmont.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Philmont.
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.