632 flood insurance claims·$11.3M paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Chenango County, New York. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe storms dominates the flood risk in Chenango County, New York, accounting for 82 recorded events and 1 death alongside 53 general flood events over the last 30 years. Torrential rainfall events, such as the mesoscale convective system in June 2025 that dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain mostly within a 6-hour period, regularly produce widespread flash flooding and small river flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend beyond high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for the highest claim volume with 411 filings, averaging $21,962 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. However, properties in moderate-to-low risk zones also experience significant losses. Zone X unshaded properties recorded 66 claims with an average payout of $30,808 and an average water depth of 13 inches, while Zone X shaded properties recorded 32 claims averaging $32,938 with an average water depth of 8 inches. Standard Zone X areas logged 71 claims averaging $19,009 with an average depth of 13 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A due to the sheer concentration of claims, while remaining aware that properties in Zone X and shaded Zone X face substantial financial loss potentials and average water depths exceeding a foot.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Chenango County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
509 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 14 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2011, with 228 claims and $5.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds and Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
71 NOAA storm reports from Chenango County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 8, 2024 |
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 31, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 13, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 7, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
135 since 1996: 82 flash floods and 53 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $300,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2024 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2025. A mesoscale convective system (MCS) dropped southward across Central NY from eastern Ontario, moving into an environment with plenty of moisture and instability during the early morning hours. Torrential rainfall accompanied these storms and produced widespread flash flooding and small river flooding. Estimates of 3 to 5 inches, with locally higher amounts, fell mostly within a 6-hour period.
Flood · Jun 22, 2025. A mesoscale convective system (MCS) dropped southward across Central NY from eastern Ontario, moving into an environment with plenty of moisture and instability during the early morning hours. Torrential rainfall accompanied these storms and produced widespread flash flooding and small river flooding. Estimates of 3 to 5 inches, with locally higher amounts, fell mostly within a 6-hour period.
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2025. A cold front and upper-level wave moving across the area triggered scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening. Thunderstorms produced excessive rainfall rates over Chenango County and contributed to areas of flooding on a few roads.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2024. A warm front helped to focus the remnants of tropical cyclone Beryl which brought steady rainfall and embedded thunderstorms to the region. A cold front then brought a second round of thunderstorms in the evening. Thunderstorms with intense rainfall produced narrow bands of 2-4 inches of rain around the area leading to isolated flash flooding.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Chenango County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.