357 flood insurance claims·$8.2M 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 Schenectady 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 and heavy rainfall events dominates Schenectady County's flood profile. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 51 general flood events resulting in one death, 41 flash flood events, and 2 tropical storm events. Recent weather narratives illustrate these risks, including slow-moving frontal systems that produced widespread heavy rainfall and flooding from April 7 to 8, 2022, as well as severe thunderstorm activity on July 14, 2023, that resulted in downed trees, power outages, and localized flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that property risks extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 200 claims with an average payout of $35,957 and an average recorded water depth of 22 inches. Properties designated as Zone X recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $44,913 and an average recorded water depth of 24 inches. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties filed 66 claims with an average payout of $8,723 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, and shaded Zone X properties recorded 19 claims averaging $15,462 with an average water depth of 6 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas such as Zone A, while remaining aware that moderate-to-low risk zones like Zone X also experience significant flood claims and standing water depths averaging up to 24 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
30% of Schenectady County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
285 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 17 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 127 claims and $6.1M paid, the year of Hurricane Irene and Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee.
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.
41 NOAA storm reports from Schenectady County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1987, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 7, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 11, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 26, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
94 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 51 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 29, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 15, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 13, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 8, 2022 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 16, 2024. The second of three days of hot and humid conditions continued across eastern New York on July 16, 2024. Heat index (feels-like temperatures) reached 95 to 104 degrees across much of the Mohawk and Hudson valleys.||During the afternoon hours, a strong upper level disturbance developed an organized line of thunderstorms which tracked eastward across the region. Widespread severe weather occurred along this line. Wi…
Flood · Jul 29, 2023. Showers and thunderstorms developed along a frontal boundary during the afternoon hours on July 29th across eastern New York. One lone thunderstorm tracked across the Mohawk Valley resulting in numerous reports of downed trees and powerlines as well as a couple of flood reports. Prior to the arrival of these thunderstorms, the combination of hot and humid conditions resulted in heat index values between 95 and 100…
Flood · Jul 14, 2023. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms ahead and along a cold frontal boundary resulted in widespread downed trees and wires and a few reports of flooding across eastern New York during the afternoon and evening hours of July 13, 2023. One injury was reported as a tree fell onto an occupied vehicle. Thousands were left without power across the Capital Region.||Additional isolated to scattered thunderstorms devel…
Flood · Dec 23, 2022. Two separate frontal systems merged to form a powerful winter storm over the Great Lakes from December 22 to December 24 bringing multiple hazards to the region including heavy rain, snow, strong winds and a very cold air mass in its wake.||Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches were observed with some localized amounts of 4 inches. The combination of the rain and snowmelt in some places resulted in some flo…
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 Schenectady 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.