1,279 flood insurance claims·$29.8M 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 Ulster 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 flooding and flash flooding from heavy rainfall events dominate the flood profile of Ulster County, NY, supported by 154 flood events and 71 flash flood events—including one fatality—recorded over the last 30 years alongside smaller totals of storm surge, tide, and tropical storm events. Recent conditions are exemplified by events such as March 2024, when a moisture-rich low-pressure system brought rain, high-elevation snow, and gusty winds, and July 2023, when widespread showers and thunderstorms dropped 3 to 6 inches of rainfall across hardest-hit areas including the Hudson Valley. The remnants of Tropical Storm Debby also brought heavy rain and gusty winds in August 2024.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 785 claims averaging a $34,556 payout and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Zone X recorded 171 claims with an average payout of $20,994 and an average water depth of 13 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 76 claims with an average payout of $33,138 and an average water depth of 19 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED and Zone UNKNOWN recorded 125 and 122 claims respectively, with average payouts of $24,796 and $5,516, and average recorded water depths of 8 and 10 inches.
Properties located in Zone A and shaded Zone X areas should pay the most attention, given their higher average claim payouts and greater recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Ulster County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
986 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 15 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 483 claims and $16.6M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds, 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.
95 NOAA storm reports from Ulster County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
37 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| 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, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 11, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
232 since 1996: 71 flash floods, 154 river or area floods and 5 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 9, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | $500 |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 9, 2024. A moisture rich, strong low pressure system brought rain, heavy, wet, high elevation snow and gusty winds to eastern New York from Saturday, March 9 through Monday, March 11, 2024. While much of eastern New York generally received less than 4 inches of snow, the southwestern Adirondacks received the heaviest amounts with accumulations generally ranging from 7 to 10 inches and higher-end amounts of 11 to 13 inches.…
Flood · Aug 9, 2024. On August 9, 2024, remnants of Tropical Storm Debby impacted eastern New York, bringing periods of heavy rain and gusty winds. Total rainfall accumulations generally ranged from about 1-4 with several instances of flash flooding in the Capital District and isolated instances in the Eastern Catskills and Upper-Hudson Valley. Non-thunderstorm wind gusts throughout eastern New York peaked between about 35-50 mph, lea…
Flood · Apr 30, 2023. A strong low pressure system tracked up the East Coast bringing moderate to locally heavy rainfall across the region on April 30, continuing into the overnight hours on May 1. Rainfall amounts were generally in the 1 to 2 inch range with some localized areas receiving 3 inches. This rainfall was enough to result in some minor flooding across portions of eastern New York, mostly ponding of water on roads or floodin…
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2023. Clusters of slow-moving, training, and heavy rain producing thunderstorms resulted in a downed tree and flash flooding over parts of eastern New York on July 18. The bulk of the heaviest rain and flooding reports were concentrated in and around the Capital District including the City of Albany, where some cars were stuck in rising flood waters. More than 5,000 residents in Albany County lost power as a result of t…
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 Ulster 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.