Natural hazards · Wellsburg

Wellsburg, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wellsburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 42 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wellsburg?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wellsburg to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding90%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Wellsburg faces

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

Inland flooding

90% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once 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 Wellsburg flood?

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

42paid claims since 1979

$1.1Mpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 21 claims, $751K
Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $1K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Wellsburg is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Chemung County.

Disasters that hit Wellsburg

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WellsburgDeclared for Chemung County only

2011

Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee

66 households applied for aid $144K aid approved $2.2M to the Village of Wellsburg for repairs

2011

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

$245 to the Village of Wellsburg for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

8 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Chemung County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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