101 flood insurance claims·$664,589 paid·3 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 Livingston 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 Livingston County, accounting for 42 of the 57 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database, alongside 15 general flood events. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall and flash flooding on June 18, 2025, driven by training thunderstorms and high moisture along a Lake Erie lake breeze boundary, as well as severe thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall and flash flooding on June 27, 2025, associated with a slow-moving warm front and lake breeze boundaries.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in Zone A should pay the most attention, as this zone accounts for the vast majority of claims with 77 filings, an average payout of $10,366, and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in unshaded Zone X also warrant attention, having recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $18,029 and an average water depth of 9 inches. Zone X, Zone UNKNOWN, and shaded Zone X account for a smaller total of 14 claims combined, with average payouts ranging from $2,214 to $6,188 and average water depths of 0 to 1 inch.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Livingston County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
88 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 10 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 2014, with 13 claims and $18,759 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.
49 NOAA storm reports from Livingston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 13, 2014 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 26, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 13, 2004 |
| Power Outage | Aug 14, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 21, 2003 |
| Ice Storm | Apr 3, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
57 since 1996: 42 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Oct 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2025. On the afternoon of June 27th, strong to severe thunderstorms developed along a warm front slowly tracking northeast across the western New York area. Additional strong to severe thunderstorms also developed along lake breeze boundaries within the warm sector of an area of low pressure over the central Great Lakes. Some of the thunderstorms that developed also produced heavy rainfall, leading to flash flooding in…
Flood · Jun 27, 2025. On the afternoon of June 27th, strong to severe thunderstorms developed along a warm front slowly tracking northeast across the western New York area. Additional strong to severe thunderstorms also developed along lake breeze boundaries within the warm sector of an area of low pressure over the central Great Lakes. Some of the thunderstorms that developed also produced heavy rainfall, leading to flash flooding in…
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…
Flash Flood · May 5, 2025. A slow moving area of low pressure brought periods of steady rain to western New York. Embedded thunderstorms within the steadier rain caused heavier downpours at times during the evening on May 5th. Heavier rain, combined with the periods of steady rain resulted in Flash Flooding in Allegany and Livingston counties. The Town of Canaseraga experienced the brunt of the 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 Livingston 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.