Natural hazards · Whitehall

Whitehall, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Whitehall comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Whitehall?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Whitehall to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding80%Cold waves8%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Whitehall faces

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

Inland flooding

80% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 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 Whitehall flood?

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

20paid claims since 1978

$301Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washington County.

Disasters that hit Whitehall

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WhitehallDeclared for Washington County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

3 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Washington County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Whitehall

Whitehall and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Whitehallmostly inland floodingHigh

Dresdenmostly inland floodingHigh

Fort Annmostly inland floodingLow

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