666 flood insurance claims·$31.0M 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 Schoharie 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.
River and general flooding driven by heavy rainfall and thunderstorms dominates Schoharie County, accounting for 63 events and two deaths alongside 39 flash flood events and one tropical storm over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include widespread poor drainage and urban flooding from prolonged heavy downpours in June 2025, as well as areal and river flooding caused by 2 to 5 inches of rainfall from a low pressure system in December 2023.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay the closest attention to locations in Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of historical claims with 488 filings averaging $52,773 in payouts and an average recorded water depth of 26 inches. Residents in Zone X and shaded Zone X properties also face significant risk, having recorded 74 and 12 claims respectively, with average payouts exceeding $64,000 and average water depths of 23 inches in standard Zone X.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Schoharie County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
528 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 24 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 326 claims and $27.1M 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Schoharie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1987, 4 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 Storms And Flooding | Mar 13, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 11, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding | Apr 14, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
103 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 63 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Jul 7, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2022 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Oct 26, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 7, 2025. A frontal boundary stalled to the south of the ALY County Warning Area, in tandem with several mid- and upper-level disturbances generated widespread heavy rainfall and scattered thunderstorms across eastern New York on June 6 and 7. Prolonged, moderate to locally heavy downpours lead to widespread poor drainage and urban flooding with numerous roadways and residential roadways becoming inundated with standing wat…
Flood · Dec 18, 2023. An area of low pressure tracked up the East Coast and intensified in the process as it brought widespread moderate to heavy rainfall across eastern New York on December 18, 2023. Rainfall totals were between 2 and 5 inches with the highest amounts across the eastern Catskills. This rain led to both areal and river flooding across the region. Some rivers didn't recede until December 22.||States of Emergency were is…
Flood · Jul 7, 2023. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms developed amid a warm and humid air mass ahead of an approaching cold front on July 7, 2023. Some storms became severe downing trees and powerlines. Locally heavy rainfall also resulted in some instances of street flooding and flash flooding.
Flood · Apr 7, 2022. A slow moving frontal system produced widespread heavy rainfall and flooding across eastern New York from April 7-8, 2022. Rainfall amounts between 1.50 and 3.00 inches were common, though a few localized areas received upwards of 4.50 inches. Periods of light to moderate rainfall began during the daytime hours on April 7 with the steadiest and heaviest rainfall arriving during the evening hours on April 7 into th…
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 Schoharie 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.