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Natural hazards · Preston

Preston, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Preston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2006. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Preston?

56
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding81%Cold waves6%Tornadoes6%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Preston faces

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

Inland flooding

81% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 52 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Preston flood?

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

1paid claims since 2006
$75Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20062026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Preston isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Chenango County.
Disasters that hit Preston

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PrestonDeclared for Chenango County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2011

Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee

$50K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2011

Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

$29K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$23K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$121K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$74K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2003

Ice Storm

$3K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2003

Snow

$2K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2002

Snowstorms

$4K to the Town of Preston for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Town of Preston for repairs
Chenango County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Preston

Preston and the towns around it

Norwich: High, mostly inland floodingPlymouth: High, mostly inland floodingMcDonough: Moderate, mostly inland floodingOxford: High, mostly inland floodingButternuts: High, mostly inland floodingNew Berlin: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Norwich: High, mostly inland floodingGuilford: High, mostly inland floodingSmyrna: High, mostly inland floodingPharsalia: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGerman: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSmithville: High, mostly inland floodingCoventry: Very high, mostly inland floodingGreene: High, mostly inland floodingPreston: Moderate, mostly inland flooding PrestonNorwichPlymouthMcDonoughOxford
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Oxfordmostly inland floodingHigh
Norwichmostly inland floodingHigh
Plymouthmostly inland floodingHigh
Prestonmostly inland floodingModerate
McDonoughmostly inland floodingModerate
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. Preston 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 Preston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Preston. 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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