Natural hazards · Buffalo

Buffalo, WY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Buffalo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1997. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Buffalo?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Buffalo to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding52%Cold waves15%Wildfire9%Earthquakes7%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Buffalo faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Buffalo flood?

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

2paid claims since 1997

$11Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Johnson County.

Disasters that hit Buffalo

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BuffaloDeclared for Johnson County only

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

131 households applied for aid $107K aid approved

Johnson County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Buffalo 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 Buffalo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Buffalo. 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.