Natural hazards · Ridgeway

Ridgeway, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgeway comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Ridgeway?

7
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgeway to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding71%Cold waves6%Strong wind5%Everything else17%
By hazard

What Ridgeway faces

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

Inland flooding

71% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Ridgeway flood?

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

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

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgewayDeclared for Orleans County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$10K to the Town of Ridgeway for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6K to the Town of Ridgeway for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the Town of Ridgeway for repairs
1999

Snow

$22K to the Town of Ridgeway for repairs
Orleans County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Ridgeway

Ridgeway and the towns around it

Shelby: Very low, mostly inland floodingYates: Low, mostly inland floodingHartland: Very low, mostly inland floodingAlbion: Very low, mostly inland floodingAlabama: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRoyalton: Very low, mostly inland floodingBarre: Very low, mostly inland floodingSomerset: Very low, mostly inland floodingCarlton: Low, mostly inland floodingNewfane: Very low, mostly inland floodingLockport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGaines: Very low, mostly inland floodingRidgeway: Very low, mostly inland flooding RidgewayShelbyYatesHartlandAlbion
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Yatesmostly inland floodingLow
Hartlandmostly inland floodingVery low
Shelbymostly inland floodingVery low
Ridgewaymostly inland floodingVery low
Albionmostly 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. Ridgeway covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ridgeway’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ridgeway. 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 Ridgeway total about $1.1M 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.

The porch light’s on

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