Wellsville’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wellsville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 1981. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Wellsville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Wellsville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 1,518 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Wellsville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Wellsville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Does Wellsville flood? Sometimes: 17 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wellsville, from FEMA’s records.
Wellsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Allegany County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wellsville
Disasters that paid out in Wellsville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Wellsville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2011Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds$82K to the Village of Wellsville for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding$243K to the Village of Wellsville for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes35 households applied for aid$28K aid approved$29K to the Village of Wellsville for repairs
- 199614 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Allegany County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Wellsville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wellsville archive →Get ready for what Wellsville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Allegany County’s 20 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Wellsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Wellsville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wellsville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.