Natural hazards · Spencer

Spencer, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Spencer comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1996. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Spencer?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Spencer to be higher than in 71% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding84%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Spencer faces

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

Inland flooding

84% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Spencer flood?

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

13paid claims since 1996

$218Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 2 claims, $86K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tioga County.

Disasters that hit Spencer

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SpencerDeclared for Tioga County only

2011

Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee

85 households applied for aid $298K aid approved $3K to the Village of Spencer for repairs

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

Tioga County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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