Natural hazards · Putnam

Putnam, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Putnam comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Putnam?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Putnam to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding85%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Putnam faces

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

Inland flooding

85% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% 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 Putnam flood?

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

6paid claims since 1979

$10Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 2 claims, $1K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washington County.

Disasters that hit Putnam

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Washington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Putnam itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into PutnamDeclared for Washington County only

Washington County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Putnam

Putnam and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Putnammostly inland floodingHigh

Dresdenmostly inland floodingHigh

Haguemostly inland floodingHigh

Ticonderogamostly inland floodingHigh

Bensonmostly inland floodingVery low

Orwellmostly 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. Putnam 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 Putnam’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Putnam. 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.