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Natural hazards · Poestenkill

Poestenkill, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Poestenkill comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1981. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Poestenkill?

56
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Poestenkill to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Tornadoes7%Everything else17%
By hazard

What Poestenkill faces

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

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Poestenkill flood?

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

11paid claims since 1981
$321Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19812026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Irene: 7 claims, $285K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PoestenkillDeclared for Rensselaer County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$30K to the Town of Poestenkill for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

59 households applied for aid $201K aid approved $443K to the Town of Poestenkill for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$18K to the Town of Poestenkill for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm

$132K to the Town of Poestenkill for repairs
2002

Snowstorms

$28K to the Town of Poestenkill for repairs
Rensselaer County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Poestenkill

Poestenkill and the towns around it

North Greenbush: Low, mostly inland floodingSand Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingGrafton: Very low, mostly inland floodingBrunswick: Low, mostly inland floodingBerlin: High, mostly inland floodingRensselaer: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEast Greenbush: Low, mostly inland floodingTroy: High, mostly inland floodingMenands: Very low, mostly inland floodingColonie: Very low, mostly inland floodingNassau: High, mostly inland floodingSchodack: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPittstown: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPetersburgh: Very high, mostly inland floodingSchaghticoke: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStephentown: High, mostly inland floodingPoestenkill: Moderate, mostly inland flooding PoestenkillNorth GreenbushSand LakeGraftonBrunswickBerlin
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Berlinmostly inland floodingHigh
Poestenkillmostly inland floodingModerate
Sand Lakemostly inland floodingLow
North Greenbushmostly inland floodingLow
Brunswickmostly inland floodingLow
Graftonmostly 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. Poestenkill covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Poestenkill’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Poestenkill. 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 Poestenkill total about $1.4M 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.

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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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