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Natural hazards · Ripley

Ripley, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ripley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Ripley?

13
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ripley to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Tornadoes10%Cold waves7%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Ripley faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 51 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ripley flood?

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

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

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RipleyDeclared for Chautauqua County only
2014

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$19K to the Town of Ripley for repairs
2014

Severe Storms and Flooding

$10K to the Town of Ripley for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$22K to the Town of Ripley for repairs
2001

Snow

$11K to the Town of Ripley for repairs
2000

Snow

$4K to the Town of Ripley for repairs
1999

Snow

$4K to the Town of Ripley for repairs
Chautauqua County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Ripley

Ripley and the towns around it

Mina: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorth East: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWestfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingGreenfield: Low, mostly inland floodingFrench Creek: Low, mostly inland floodingSherman: Low, mostly inland floodingHarborcreek: Very low, mostly inland floodingChautauqua: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPortland: Low, mostly inland floodingRipley: Very low, mostly inland flooding RipleyMinaNorth EastWestfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
North Eastmostly inland floodingModerate
Ripleymostly inland floodingVery low
Minamostly inland floodingVery low
Westfieldmostly 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. Ripley covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ripley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ripley. 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 Ripley total about $705K 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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