1,498 flood insurance claims·$120.7M paid·6 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 New York 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 weather and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in New York County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 57 flash flood events, alongside 17 general floods, 9 coastal floods resulting in 2 deaths, 3 tropical storms, and 1 storm surge or tide event.
Severe events are frequently driven by intense rainfall over short periods. For example, the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 1, 2021, produced 5 to 8 inches of rain across the region, with Central Park recording 7.19 inches total and 3.15 inches in a single hour, causing widespread catastrophic flash flooding. Heavy rainfall from frontal systems also triggered significant flooding on July 18, 2022, and October 30, 2025.
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest volume in Zone A (912 claims, averaging a $14,9925 payout and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches) and Zone X (276 claims, averaging a $92,396 payout and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches). Additional claims occurred in Zone X_UNSHADED (94 claims, averaging $176,016 with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches) and Zone X_SHADED (50 claims, averaging $280,560 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches). Property owners in Zone A and Zone X, as well as those in shaded and unshaded X zones, should pay close attention to their flood risk given the documented claim history and water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of New York County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,078 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 7 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 2012, with 669 claims and $111.6M paid, the year of Hurricane Sandy.
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.
23 NOAA storm reports from New York County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 13, 2004 |
| Power Outage | Aug 14, 2003 |
| Snow | Feb 17, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
87 since 1996: 57 flash floods, 17 river or area floods and 10 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | $54.0M |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | $60.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 30, 2025. A widespread rainfall of 1.5 to 2.5 inches resulted in flooding as a frontal system triggered thunderstorms across the NYC Metro area.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2022. Several rounds of heavy thunderstorms developed in the warm sector of a frontal system on July 18th, 2022. These thunderstorms developed in an environment with 2 to 2.3 inch PWAT values and CAPE near 3000 J/kg. Training thunderstorms produced a widespread 1 to 3 inches of rainfall with localized spots up to 4 to 5 inches.
Flash Flood · Aug 21, 2021. Showers and thunderstorms streaming northward well ahead of approaching Hurricane Henri resulted in flash flooding across portions of New York City and Western Long Island. This rainfall developed in a moisture-rich environment, with the 8pm sounding from Upton, NY recording precipitable water values around 2.25 inches. Rainfall totals from this predecessor rainfall event ranged from 1-5 inches. The ASOS in Centra…
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2021. A predecessor rainfall event resulted in flash flooding across portions of the area as moisture streaming northward ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa encountered a stationary boundary draped across the area. Rainfall amounts ranged 2-4 inches across portions of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester County, with lesser amounts elsewhere. The ASOS in Central Park reported 2.27 inches of rain from this event, while the Ne…
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 New York 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.