1,291 flood insurance claims·$39.4M paid·8 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 Delaware 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Delaware County, New York. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 84 flash flood events causing 13 deaths, alongside 53 general flood events resulting in 2 deaths. Recent events illustrate this hazard: a mesoscale convective system on June 22, 2025 dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain within a 6-hour period, producing widespread flash and small river flooding. Additionally, slow-moving thunderstorms on July 13, 2025 brought heavy rainfall that flooded roads and washed out culverts and small bridges.
FEMA insurance claim data demonstrates that properties in mapped high-risk areas face the most severe financial and physical impacts. Zone A properties experienced 975 claims with an average payout of $40,554 and an average recorded water depth of 22 inches. By contrast, Zone X properties recorded 184 claims with an average payout of $19,547 and an average water depth of 21 inches, while Zone X unshaded properties had 42 claims averaging $16,064 with a 19-inch average water depth, and Zone X shaded properties logged 9 claims averaging $15,050 with a 24-inch average water depth. Properties with unknown zones accounted for 81 claims with an average payout of $4,929 and a 6-inch average water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and near small streams, rivers, and culverts prone to rapid runoff and washouts during intense convective storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Delaware County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,026 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 21 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 2006, with 445 claims and $18.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
68 NOAA storm reports from Delaware County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
39 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 8, 2024 |
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 13, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 13, 2014 |
| 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.
137 since 1996: 84 flash floods and 53 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | $125,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | $15,000 |
— = 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 · Jul 13, 2025. A warm and unstable environment ahead of an approaching cold front supported the development of scattered thunderstorms. Weak steering winds contributed to slow moving storms repeating over the same areas which contributed to areas of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Several locations around central New York reported flooded roads along with washouts of culverts and small bridges.
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 · May 4, 2025. An upper level low pressure system interacting with a stationary frontal system draped across southeast New York triggered copious amounts of showers and thunderstorms. An enhanced area of prolonged heavy rainfall over Delaware county produced a period of excessive runoff and some flash flooding of local roads.
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 Delaware 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.