States › New York › Kings County

Kings County, New York

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 36047 · 2,641,052 residents (2021) · 69 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 7Tornado · 3Flood · 83Wind · 87Winter · 1

Kings County within New York. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Kings County, New York, has 213 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 307.0 events per 100 square miles, above the New York figure of 120.3, and 0.8 per 10,000 residents against 28.6 statewide.

9 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 6 deaths and 31 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $71M.

FEMA has designated the county in 24 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storm And Flooding (major disaster, 30 Jan 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 6,319 claims since 1978, of which 5,219 were paid, totalling $330M (about $63K per paid claim). FEMA counts 8,029 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($375M a year across 18 hazards).

52 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 3 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

9events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

213events since 19506 deaths, 31 injuries recorded

24disaster declarationslast 30 Jan 2024

6,319NFIP flood claims$330M paid

Compared with New York and the United States

Measure	Kings County	New York	US
Recorded events since 1950	213	56,675	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	307.0	120.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	0.8	28.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	9	1,948	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	6	578	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$71M	$5.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.4	8.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$63K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	8.9	10.1	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Wind: 1

Hail: 1Wind: 5

Hail: 2Flood: 14Wind: 15Winter: 1Lightning: 1Other: 10

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Flood: 27Wind: 17Lightning: 5Other: 8

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Flood: 14Wind: 28Lightning: 3Other: 1

Hail: 1Flood: 28Wind: 20Lightning: 4

01950s11960s11970s61980s431990s602000s492010s532020s

Recorded events in Kings County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 128 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 78 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind87

Flood83

Other19

Lightning13

Hail7

Tornado3

Winter1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	87	2	0.4%	detail
■ Flood	83	3	1.2%	detail
■ Other	19	—	3.4%
■ Lightning	13	1	2.2%
■ Hail	7	—	0.1%
■ Tornado	3	—	0.5%
■ Winter	1	—	0.0%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
26 Jul 2012	Lightning	Lightning	—	$5K	—	1	—	County
19 Apr 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	1	—	County
22 Jul 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	1	—	County
1 Sep 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
1 Sep 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
30 Oct 2025	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
8 Aug 2007	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	—	—	—	9	County
31 Dec 1996	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	—	6	County
1 Sep 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$60M	—	—	—	County
2 Jun 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	5	County
18 Jul 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	—	3	County
4 Jul 2023	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
7 Sep 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	—	—	—	1	County
7 Sep 1998	Hail	Hail	1.50 in	—	—	—	1	County
2 Jun 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	—	1	County
26 Jul 2009	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
23 Jul 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
16 Sep 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	—	—	—	1	County
16 Sep 2010	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$8.5M	—	—	—	County
19 Oct 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
30 Jan 2024	DR-4755	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
5 Sep 2021	DR-4615	Major disaster	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Sep 2021	EM-3572	Emergency	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
22 Aug 2021	EM-3565	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Henri	Public assistance
20 Mar 2020	DR-4480	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3434	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
30 Oct 2012	DR-4085	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Oct 2012	EM-3351	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
31 Aug 2011	DR-4020	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Aug 2011	EM-3328	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
18 Feb 2011	DR-1957	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
14 Oct 2010	DR-1943	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
31 Aug 2007	DR-1724	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornado	Individual assistance
30 Sep 2005	EM-3262	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
3 Aug 2004	DR-1534	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	—
23 Aug 2003	EM-3186	Emergency	Other	Power Outage	Public assistance
27 Mar 2003	EM-3184	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
11 Sep 2001	DR-1391	Major disaster	Fire	Fires And Explosions	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Oct 2000	EM-3155	Emergency	Other	West Nile Virus	Public assistance
12 Jan 1996	DR-1083	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)	Public assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3107	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Blizzard	Public assistance
17 Apr 1984	DR-702	Major disaster	Flood	Coastal Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
13 Sep 1971	DR-311	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
18 Aug 1965	DR-204	Major disaster	Drought	Water Shortage	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Kings County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19786,319

Paid claims5,219

Total paid$330M

Average paid claim$63K

Repetitive-loss properties36512 severe

Residential policies in force8,0292.9% of 274,664 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	24	5	$52,690	$10,538
2025	32	27	$546,947	$20,257
2024	16	5	$43,538	$8,708
2023	220	147	$3,895,817	$26,502
2022	49	32	$971,823	$30,369
2021	300	199	$6,527,978	$32,804
2020	22	6	$29,308	$4,885
2019	10	3	$41,535	$13,845
2018	25	12	$136,148	$11,346
2017	15	4	$13,011	$3,253
2016	20	12	$23,860	$1,988
2015	20	6	$24,270	$4,045
2014	41	21	$277,786	$13,228
2013	16	9	$45,890	$5,099
2012	3,583	3,404	$306,935,680	$90,169
2011	298	211	$2,764,849	$13,104
2010	24	11	$80,503	$7,318
2009	13	2	$8,384	$4,192
2008	15	6	$46,673	$7,779
2007	23	12	$77,591	$6,466
2006	4	3	$15,869	$5,290
2005	13	9	$54,331	$6,037
2004	16	11	$61,504	$5,591
2003	9	2	$8,135	$4,067
2001	7	2	$2,502	$1,251

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 99.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$375MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Very High	$181,195,168
Heat wave	Very High	$63,275,186
Earthquake	Relatively High	$51,995,825
Hurricane	Relatively High	$30,667,257
Cold wave	Very High	$22,420,330
Strong wind	Very High	$10,059,696
Tornado	Relatively High	$6,195,657
Coastal flooding	Relatively High	$2,686,258
Hail	Relatively High	$1,986,646
Winter weather	Very High	$1,792,906
Lightning	Very High	$1,743,384
Ice storm	Relatively High	$775,276
Wildfire	Very Low	$13,786
Landslide	Very Low	$478
Drought	Very Low	$136

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles52

Tracks within 50 miles21

Hurricane strength within 50 miles3

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	50 mi	58 mph
Ida	2021	60 mi	46 mph
Fay	2020	35 mi	52 mph
Isaias	2020	63 mi	63 mph
Andrea	2013	54 mi	46 mph
Sandy	2012	84 mi	81 mph
Irene	2011	4 mi	69 mph
Hanna	2008	53 mi	52 mph
Barry	2007	97 mi	40 mph
Charley	2004	93 mi	40 mph
Allison	2001	97 mi	46 mph
Floyd	1999	24 mi	58 mph
Bertha	1996	42 mi	69 mph
Gloria	1985	34 mi	86 mph
Henri	1985	55 mi	40 mph
Belle	1976	47 mi	69 mph
Agnes	1972	42 mi	63 mph
Doria	1971	41 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1968	34 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1961	40 mi	63 mph
Brenda	1960	12 mi	58 mph
Donna	1960	50 mi	98 mph
Diane	1955	30 mi	46 mph
Carol	1954	93 mi	115 mph
Able	1952	56 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

11235 1,667
11224 1,603
11229 711
11234 486
11231 297
11236 267
11214 139
11222 104
11215 98
11211 84
11209 81
11223 80
11219 64
11228 58
11232 57
11201 48
11210 48
11204 45
11218 42
11217 40
11230 38
11249 33
11226 29
11203 25
11220 20
11207 18
11233 18
11208 16
11206 13
11238 12
11221 11
11237 11
11205 9
11216 9
11212 7
11225 7
11213 6

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Kings County, NY?

NCEI records 7 hail events in Kings County since 1950, in 7 different years; that is about 0.1 recorded events a year. 1 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Kings County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 3 tornadoes in Kings County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Kings County?

30 Jan 2024: Severe Storm And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 24 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Kings County, and how much was paid?

6,319 NFIP claims since 1978, 5,219 of them paid, for $330M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Kings County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Kings County compare with the rest of New York?

307.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.3 statewide, and 2.4 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.8. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.