Natural hazards · Speculator

Speculator, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Speculator comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Speculator?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Speculator to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding85%Cold waves5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Speculator 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

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Speculator flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hamilton County.

Disasters that hit Speculator

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SpeculatorDeclared for Hamilton County only

2019

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$258K to the Village of Speculator for repairs

2011

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

$8K to the Village of Speculator for repairs

2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$24K to the Village of Speculator for repairs

Hamilton County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

Around Speculator

Speculator and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wellsmostly inland floodingVery high

Indian Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Speculatormostly inland floodingModerate

Lake Pleasantmostly inland floodingModerate

Ariettamostly 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. Speculator 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 Speculator’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Speculator. 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.