Natural hazards · Gates Mills

Gates Mills, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gates Mills comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 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 Gates Mills?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gates Mills to be higher than in 40% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding83%Tornadoes8%Cold waves6%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Gates Mills faces

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

Inland flooding

83% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Gates Mills flood?

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

16paid claims since 1979

$100Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19792026

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. Gates Mills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cuyahoga County.

Disasters that hit Gates Mills

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Gates MillsDeclared for Cuyahoga County only

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $453 aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2003

Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved

Cuyahoga County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Gates Mills

Gates Mills and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Gates Millsmostly inland floodingModerate

Willoughby Hillsmostly inland floodingLow

Hunting Valleymostly inland floodingVery low

Chestermostly inland floodingVery low

Chesterlandmostly inland floodingVery low

Mayfield Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low

Mayfieldmostly 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. Gates Mills covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Gates Mills’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Gates Mills. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Gates Mills total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.