2,483 flood insurance claims·$12.8M paid
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 Erie 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 and general flooding events dominate the historical record in Erie County, supported by 94 flash flood events, 81 flood events, and 31 lakeshore flood events over the last 30 years. Recent regional impacts include heavy rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms and lake breeze boundaries causing flash flooding in June 2025, alongside moisture-rich storm systems that prompted flood warnings across the Niagara Frontier in April 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in high-risk Zone A have filed the highest volume of claims at 1,098, averaging $9,154 per payout with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. However, properties in Zone X have also sustained significant impacts, averaging $20,166 per payout with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches across 152 claims. Additionally, Zone UNKNOWN accounts for 845 claims with an average payout of $3,248 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone X, where claims data demonstrate both frequent occurrences and higher average water depths and payout amounts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
26% of Erie County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,486 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 4 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 1979, with 723 claims and $2.2M paid.
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.
180 NOAA storm reports from Erie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1976.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 23, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Nov 18, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 31, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Nov 17, 2014 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 8, 2009 |
| Lake Effect Snowstorm | Oct 12, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
206 since 1996: 94 flash floods, 81 river or area floods and 31 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 21, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 22, 2024 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Nov 20, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2024 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 21, 2025. A mid level trough and cold front tracking across the region caused showers and thunderstorms to develop on the afternoon of Monday April 21st. Some of the thunderstorms caused gusty winds and heavy rainfall, with at least one of the storms causing enough heavy rainfall to prompt the need for a Flash Flood Warning.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms developed along a Lake Erie lake breeze boundary during the late morning of June 18th. With the very high moisture laden airmass over the area, heavy rain occurred within some of the showers and thunderstorms that developed. Some of the thunderstorms, especially early, trained over the same area long enough to cause flash flooding issues. Additional showers and thunderstorms developed dur…
Flood · Jan 26, 2024. An area of low pressure and a series of troughs tracking across the region caused steady rain across western and north central New York. Combined with a previous wet pattern and melting snow in the days leading up to this event, flooding was observed for portions of the area. Flooding of area roadways was reported in Tonawanda, Snyder, Clarence (Harris Hill) and Lewiston.
Flood · May 22, 2024. Increased instability, shear and moisture over the region, combined with a pre-frontal trough and cold front crossing the area resulted in severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall.
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 Erie 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.