19,422 flood insurance claims·$278.2M 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 Richmond 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 heavy summer thunderstorms and severe weather dominates the flood history of Richmond County, which recorded 53 flash flood events alongside 16 general flood events, 12 coastal flood events, 4 tropical storms, and 1 storm surge event over the last 30 years.
Recent impacts are documented in NOAA storm narratives, such as the strong low pressure system and high astronomical tides that caused widespread coastal flooding on January 13, 2024, and the extremely heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that brought 5 to 8 inches of rain and widespread catastrophic flash flooding on September 1–2, 2021.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the closest attention to properties in FEMA Zone A, which accumulated 5,650 National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $43,040 and an average recorded water depth of 20 inches. Properties in Zone X_SHADED also warrant careful review, having recorded an average water depth of 18 inches across claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Richmond County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
6,095 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 2012, with 4,136 claims and $233.7M 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 Richmond County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
25 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 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 26, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Sep 16, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 13, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
86 since 1996: 53 flash floods, 16 river or area floods and 13 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2021 | — |
| 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 · Jul 31, 2025. A slow moving frontal boundary moved over the local area triggering heavy rainfall and thunderstorms across NJ and NYC causing flash flooding across the area resulting in vehicles being stranded and multiple road closures.
Coastal Flood · Jan 13, 2024. Strong low pressure shifted northeast through the eastern Great Lakes on January 13, 2024, sending a warm front through during the morning hours, followed quickly by a cold front. Strong winds produced by this system, combined with peaking high astronomical tides associated with a recent new moon, produced widespread moderate to major coastal flooding along the entire southeast New York coastline and along the Low…
Coastal Flood · Jan 10, 2024. Strong low pressure moving northeast from the Mid Atlantic region to southern New England during the night of January 9, 2024 into the early morning hours of January 10, 2024 produced high winds, which combined with high astronomical tides associated with an upcoming new moon to produce widespread moderate to major coastal flooding along the south shore of Long Island and along the Hudson River in Southeast New York.
Flash Flood · Aug 27, 2021. A backdoor cold front approached the area during the afternoon before stalling across the region during the evening and overnight. This front sparked a few widely scattered thunderstorms in a moisture rich environment, with precipitable water values from both the 8am and 8pm soundings from Upton, NY measuring around 2 inches. With weak upper level flow resulting in slow storm motions and wet antecedent conditions…
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 Richmond 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.