184 flood insurance claims·$825,609 paid·4 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 Niagara 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 and general riverine flooding from summer thunderstorms and rain events dominate the flood profile of Niagara County, New York, accounting for 48 of the 61 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database, alongside coastal and lakeshore flooding. Recent events illustrate these hazards; for example, a series of troughs and melting snow caused steady rain and roadway flooding in Lewiston and other areas in January 2024, while slow-moving thunderstorms driven by a stalled frontal boundary produced heavy rain and flash flooding in July 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks impact properties across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest volume of claims at 108, with an average payout of $6,525 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. However, properties in Zone X also face significant financial risk, recording 26 claims with a notably higher average payout of $18,622 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Additionally, properties in Zone X_UNSHADED recorded an average water depth of 16 inches across 17 claims, with an average payout of $3,600.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in Zone A and Zone X—including those outside traditionally mapped high-risk areas—should pay close attention to these historical flood patterns and claim distributions when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Niagara County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
130 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 5 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 2013, with 30 claims and $149,229 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.
56 NOAA storm reports from Niagara County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Nov 18, 2022 |
| Flooding | May 2, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 26, 2011 |
| Lake Effect Snowstorm | Oct 12, 2006 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Oct 12, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
61 since 1996: 32 flash floods, 16 river or area floods and 13 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2023 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jul 20, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2021 | $100,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | Dec 11, 2021 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2024. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed within a highly unstable atmosphere across most of western New York. Thunderstorms developed as an outflow boundary from upstream convection moved into western New York. Heavy rainfall within a very moist atmosphere caused some flooding issues as well during the morning of June 18.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2023. A mid-level impulse and stalled out frontal boundary resulted in slow moving thunderstorms across the western Niagara Frontier that produced heavy rain and flash flooding. There were also waterspouts on Lake Erie in the afternoon as the impulse crossed the area.
Lakeshore Flood · Dec 23, 2022. A historic lake effect blizzard occurred northeast of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario during the Christmas holiday weekend. The combination of high winds in excess of 70 mph and heavy lake effect snow resulted in devastating impacts across western New York and also east of Lake Ontario from December 23 through December 27. ||Warmer air initially was in place over the majority of the region with widespread middle and up…
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 Niagara 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.