3,480 flood insurance claims·$45.3M paid·10 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 Rockland 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 the flood risk profile in Rockland County, NY, accounting for 81 events and 1 death over the last 30 years, alongside 42 general floods, 5 coastal floods, and 3 tropical storms causing 2 deaths. Heavy rainfall events, such as the July 2025 flash floods driven by a weak front and high precipitable water, have produced rainfall totals of 4 to 6.5 inches with rates between 1 and 2 inches.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood damage extends across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A recorded 1,311 claims with an average water depth of 13 inches and an average payout of $25,929. Zone X properties recorded 500 claims with an average water depth of 11 inches and an average payout of $22,401, while Zone X shaded properties experienced 138 claims with an average water depth of 13 inches and an average payout of $25,359. Zone X unshaded areas logged 591 claims with an average water depth of 4 inches and an average payout of $12,278, and unknown zones accounted for 917 claims averaging 2 inches of recorded water depth and a $2,455 payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A, Zone X, and shaded Zone X areas, where average recorded water depths reach 11 to 13 inches and average payouts exceed $22,000.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
36% of Rockland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
2,042 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 9 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 2011, with 502 claims and $15.7M paid, the year of Hurricane Irene.
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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Rockland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 9, 2023 |
| 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 And Flooding | Mar 13, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
131 since 1996: 81 flash floods, 42 river or area floods and 5 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A weak front approached from the west along with PW of 2 inches resulting in heavy rainfall across the area. 4 to 6.5 inches of rainfall totals were reported with rainfall rates between 1 to 2 inches.
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 · Sep 29, 2023. An inverted trough extending from a low pressure system over the Western Atlantic provided a focus for persistent heavy convective rain to continually develop over the NYC metro and surrounding areas during much of the day on September 29th, 2023. In an environment with anomalously high moisture given the time of year, PWATs near 1.5-1.7 inches, rounds of heavy rainfall fell over the same areas for more than 12-18…
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 Rockland 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.