12,259 flood insurance claims·$272.7M 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 Westchester 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 heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Westchester County, followed by general riverine and coastal flooding. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 221 flash flood events resulting in 5 deaths, compared to 55 general floods, 21 coastal floods, 5 tropical storms, and 1 storm surge or tide event. Recent severe impacts include a heavy rainfall event on July 14, 2025, when a weak front brought 4 to 6.5 inches of total rainfall with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, triggering widespread flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend across multiple zones, with the highest volume of claims concentrated in designated high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas. Zone A accounts for 6,278 claims with an average payout of $36,149 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Zone X accounts for 2,339 claims averaging $26,340 with an average water depth of 14 inches, while Zone X shaded areas recorded 579 claims averaging $23,695 with an average water depth of 8 inches, and Zone X unshaded areas recorded 1,380 claims averaging $12,139 with an average water depth of 8 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in high-risk coastal and riverine areas within Zone A, as well as property owners in Zone X designations where significant historical claims and standing water depths indicate substantial vulnerability to intense rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
23% of Westchester County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
8,479 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 11 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 2021, with 1,829 claims and $106.6M paid, the year of Hurricane Henri and Remnants Of Hurricane Ida.
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.
121 NOAA storm reports from Westchester County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Sep 28, 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 Storms And Flooding | Mar 13, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding | Apr 14, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
303 since 1996: 221 flash floods, 55 river or area floods and 22 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 30, 2025. A widespread rainfall of 1.5 to 2.5 inches resulted in flooding as a frontal system triggered thunderstorms across the NYC Metro area.
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.
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 Westchester 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.