33,936 flood insurance claims·$1.1B paid·11 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 Suffolk 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 profile of Suffolk County, New York, with 234 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years alongside 111 coastal floods, 27 general floods, 18 tropical storms, and 9 storm surge or tide events.
Recent impacts are exemplified by July 2025, when a slow-moving frontal boundary triggered heavy rainfall and thunderstorms that caused flash flooding, stranded vehicles, and resulted in multiple road closures. Tropical storms and coastal floods have also proven hazardous, accounting for four and two deaths, respectively, over the past three decades.
Property owners in FEMA flood zones should review their risk carefully, particularly those in Zone A, which accounts for 23,255 NFIP claims with an average payout of $44,881 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Residents in Zone V, which saw 2065 claims averaging $49,291 and an average water depth of 7 inches, as well as those in various Zone X categories comprising thousands of additional claims, should also pay close attention to their flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Suffolk County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
28,322 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 8 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 13,307 claims and $852.1M 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.
134 NOAA storm reports from Suffolk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
36 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Aug 18, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2022 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
399 since 1996: 234 flash floods, 27 river or area floods and 120 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2024 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | $20,000 |
— = 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.
Flash Flood · Aug 19, 2024. A frontal system over the area on August 18th and into the early morning hours of August 19th allowed for the development of multiple rounds of slow moving heavy thunderstorms which resulted in widespread significant to catastrophic flash flooding for portions of Southeast New York, specifically for the north shore of Long Island. Several rounds of rain moved through during the day on August 18th. By the afternoon…
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2024. A frontal system over the area on August 18th and into the early morning hours of August 19th allowed for the development of multiple rounds of slow moving heavy thunderstorms which resulted in widespread significant to catastrophic flash flooding for portions of Southeast New York, specifically for the north shore of Long Island. Several rounds of rain moved through during the day on August 18th. By the afternoon…
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…
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 Suffolk 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.