358 flood insurance claims·$3.4M 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 Cortland 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 slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Cortland County, accounting for 57 of the last 30 years of recorded flood events, compared to 27 standard flood events.
Recent storms illustrate this pattern. On June 7, 2025, slow-moving thunderstorms driven by a stationary front dropped 2 to 3 inches of rain in a few hours, causing urban and small stream flash flooding alongside road and bridge washouts. Later that month, on June 22, 2025, a mesoscale convective system dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain within six hours, producing widespread flash flooding and small river flooding. Additional flash flooding occurred on June 20, 2024, when thunderstorms dropped over 2.5 to 3 inches of rain in a short period, swelling local creeks and streams.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to properties in high-risk Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of National Flood Insurance Program claims with 239 filings, averaging 18 inches of recorded water depth and a $10,235 payout. Properties in Zone X unshaded also warrant close attention, having recorded the highest financial impact with an average payout of $53,391 across 28 claims and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Cortland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
282 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 16 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 2005, with 99 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Hurricane Katrina Evacuation.
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.
49 NOAA storm reports from Cortland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 10, 2024 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Fred | Aug 18, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 31, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 8, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
84 since 1996: 57 flash floods and 27 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2024 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2024 | $6,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 26, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Oct 26, 2021 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 26, 2021 | $5,000 |
— = 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.
Flash Flood · Jun 7, 2025. Low pressure moving along a stationary front positioned over South Central New York triggered slow-moving, heavy rain-producing thunderstorms during the early morning hours. Pockets of 2 to 3 inches of rain fell over just a few hours causing urban and small stream flash flooding along with road and bridge washouts.
Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2024. A slow-moving cluster of thunderstorms developed along a boundary in a hot, humid and unstable environment. Isolated rain amounts in excess of 2.5 to 3.0 inches over a short period of time during the afternoon swelled local creeks and streams causing flooding in portions of Steuben and Cortland counties. A flooded road also occurred earlier in Seneca County, with initial activity the prior evening.
Flash Flood · Dec 18, 2023. Low pressure moved north along the Atlantic Seaboard spreading steady and heavy rain into central New York during the overnight hours. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches were observed along with a considerable amount of melting snow into area rivers and streams. Widespread flash flooding and river flooding occurred during this event.
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 Cortland 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.