County Hazards

States › New York

New York

The recorded hazard history of every county in New York: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

New York has 56,675 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 62 counties, led by damaging wind: 120.3 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 578 deaths and 1,880 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $5.7B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Bronx, New York and Queens.

FEMA lists 118 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Jennings Creek Fire (15 Nov 2024). NFIP policyholders filed 175,430 flood claims since 1978, $5.7B paid; 118,000 residential policies are in force.

1,948events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026
56,675events since 1950120.3 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)
118disaster declarations since 1953last 15 Nov 2024
175,430NFIP flood claims$5.7B paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

MeasureNew YorkUS
Recorded events since 195056,6751,977,440
Events per 100 square miles120.356.0
Events per 10,000 residents28.659.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI57826,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)$5.7B$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents8.88.1
Average paid NFIP claim$40K$43K
Residential flood policies in force118,0003,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind24,828
Winter13,456
Flood6,836
Hail5,067
Cold2,837
Heat1,402
Lightning582
Tornado563
Other552
Drought377
Tropical122
Wildfire34
Fog19
HazardEventsShare of USDeaths
■ Wind24,8283.5%110
■ Winter13,4564.7%135
■ Flood6,8363.7%117
■ Hail5,0671.2%—
■ Cold2,8375.3%24
■ Heat1,4022.5%123
■ Lightning5823.2%19
■ Tornado5630.7%32
■ Other5521.2%4
■ Drought3770.4%—
■ Tropical1221.1%12
■ Wildfire340.4%—
■ Fog190.1%2

Events by decade

Hail: 20Tornado: 12Wind: 51
Hail: 45Tornado: 33Wind: 241
Hail: 91Tornado: 54Wind: 344
Hail: 251Tornado: 74Wind: 1364
Hail: 488Tornado: 121Flood: 914Wind: 3929Winter: 1722Heat: 119Cold: 130Drought: 77Lightning: 89Fog: 3Other: 116
Hail: 1977Tornado: 79Flood: 1918Wind: 4550Winter: 4627Tropical: 29Heat: 156Cold: 859Drought: 153Wildfire: 29Lightning: 285Fog: 2Other: 212
Hail: 1697Tornado: 100Flood: 2378Wind: 7566Winter: 4073Tropical: 68Heat: 485Cold: 1168Drought: 105Wildfire: 1Lightning: 145Fog: 14Other: 104
Hail: 498Tornado: 90Flood: 1626Wind: 6783Winter: 3034Tropical: 25Heat: 642Cold: 680Drought: 42Wildfire: 4Lightning: 63Other: 120
831950s3191960s4891970s1,6891980s7,7081990s14,8762000s17,9042010s13,6072020s
Recorded events in New York by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

CountyEventsLast 12 moPer 100 sq miPer 10k residentsDominantTornadoesHailDeclarationsNFIP claimsNRI risk
Bronx County30510723.22.1Flood111201,945Relatively High
New York County1553684.11.0Flood112231,498Relatively High
Queens County48922449.82.1Flood5282514,948Relatively High
Richmond County20518356.44.2Wind4182519,422Relatively Moderate
Kings County2139307.00.8Wind37246,319Relatively High
Rockland County47620274.114.0Wind337303,480Relatively Moderate
Nassau County7007246.05.0Wind9813151,523Relatively High
Montgomery County96846240.1195.3Wind106026288Relatively Low
Schenectady County4256207.726.9Wind67325357Relatively Low
Broome County1,25863178.363.8Wind12245303,103Relatively Moderate
Albany County9318178.029.7Wind718523377Relatively Moderate
Putnam County4078176.841.6Wind63329373Very Low
Westchester County74630173.27.5Wind9813212,259Relatively High
Saratoga County1,13514140.147.8Wind1320520581Relatively Low
Columbia County83417131.4135.0Wind1410227245Relatively Low
Onondaga County1,00544129.121.2Wind820319970Relatively Moderate
Rensselaer County80910124.050.5Wind1013329475Relatively Moderate
Schoharie County75720121.7253.5Wind34229666Very Low
Cortland County60618121.5130.9Wind76119358Relatively Low
Dutchess County96327121.032.4Wind1616127765Relatively Moderate
Orange County97219119.724.0Wind1387362,032Relatively Moderate
Monroe County76013115.710.1Wind58421828Relatively Moderate
Tompkins County54821115.552.1Wind810520290Relatively Low
Niagara County59017113.027.9Wind47527184Relatively Moderate
Chemung County45311111.254.5Wind66919304Relatively Low
Chautauqua County1,16129109.591.6Wind2990241,803Relatively Moderate
Tioga County55811107.6116.3Wind887271,558Relatively Low
Oswego County99220104.284.5Wind118621221Relatively Low
Washington County86643104.2142.1Wind56916136Relatively Low
Ontario County64416100.057.2Wind75020263Relatively Low
Seneca County320698.995.0Wind14312108Very Low
Yates County331697.9134.5Wind63721149Relatively Low
Schuyler County3171296.5178.6Wind6341530Very Low
Suffolk County8772596.35.7Wind321073633,936Relatively High
Madison County6221395.091.9Wind810224313Relatively Low
Orleans County3641193.090.6Wind1302439Very Low
Wayne County5561692.161.2Wind46517209Relatively Low
Genesee County4501591.377.8Wind62825137Relatively Low
Wyoming County5341290.1131.9Wind44024113Very Low
Oneida County1,087889.747.2Wind32265281,069Relatively Moderate
Chenango County7851287.8168.7Wind1910931632Relatively Low
Fulton County4341887.681.7Wind116618116Relatively Low
Ulster County9583285.252.4Wind14123371,279Relatively Moderate
Erie County884884.89.3Wind27131272,483Relatively High
Otsego County8491584.8146.1Wind1413427463Relatively Low
Livingston County499979.081.0Wind34020101Relatively Low
Cayuga County5311976.870.0Wind59319265Relatively Low
Cattaraugus County9793474.8128.1Wind196426493Relatively Moderate
Sullivan County7012172.487.8Wind1211935945Relatively Low
Herkimer County915964.9152.7Wind1110025422Relatively Low
Steuben County8803263.394.7Wind913124375Relatively Low
Warren County5311161.280.9Wind75419116Relatively Low
Lewis County7742360.6291.3Wind9262838Very Low
Greene County380458.778.4Wind95329587Relatively Low
Allegany County5922457.5128.4Wind113125193Relatively Low
Jefferson County6992455.160.1Wind42721250Relatively Low
Delaware County7591652.6171.0Wind11108391,291Relatively Moderate
Hamilton County6362537.01,242.4Winter7251835Very Low
Clinton County359734.645.1Wind29319296Relatively Low
Essex County395222.0106.0Wind38025369Relatively Low
Franklin County322519.867.9Wind2462040Relatively Low
St. Lawrence County4641417.342.9Wind11721995Relatively Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

CountyClaims, last 10 yearsPolicies in forceClaims per 100 policiesClaims since 1978Paid
Wayne County11014675.3209$2.5M
Oneida County30646565.81,069$16M
Westchester County2,7806,27644.312,259$273M
Jefferson County9125336.0250$2.4M
Seneca County2812322.8108$977K
Putnam County5022222.5373$5.4M
Ontario County6329721.2263$3.8M
Monroe County20096320.8828$5.0M
Rockland County18499018.63,480$45M
Oswego County5027218.4221$2.5M
Bronx County3231,84417.51,945$27M
Cayuga County4727916.8265$1.5M
St. Lawrence County1810916.595$1.7M
Herkimer County5132615.6422$6.1M
Orange County1641,08215.22,032$27M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026
Declarations touching New York by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.
Incident typeDeclarations
Severe Storm31
Flood27
Snowstorm21
Hurricane17
Fire4
Biological4
Tropical Storm2
Winter Storm2
Other2
Severe Ice Storm2

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
15 Nov 2024FM-5547Fire management assistanceFireJennings Creek Fire1
21 Oct 2024DR-4839Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storm And Flooding3
24 Sep 2024DR-4825Major disasterTropical StormRemnants Of Tropical Storm Debby11
20 Sep 2024DR-4818Major disasterTropical StormSevere Storm And Flooding0
29 Aug 2024DR-4814Major disasterFloodSevere Storm, Tornadoes, And Flooding5
25 Aug 2024EM-3613EmergencySevere StormSevere Storm And Flooding1
30 Jan 2024DR-4755Major disasterFloodSevere Storm And Flooding3
22 Jul 2023DR-4723Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding9
15 Mar 2023DR-4694Major disasterSnowstormSevere Winter Storm And Snowstorm5
26 Dec 2022EM-3590EmergencyWinter StormSevere Winter Storm2
20 Nov 2022EM-3589EmergencyWinter StormSevere Winter Storm And Snowstorm11
8 Oct 2021DR-4625Major disasterHurricaneRemnants Of Tropical Storm Fred9
5 Sep 2021DR-4615Major disasterHurricaneRemnants Of Hurricane Ida14
2 Sep 2021EM-3572EmergencyHurricaneRemnants Of Hurricane Ida14
22 Aug 2021EM-3565EmergencyHurricaneHurricane Henri26

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026
NFIP claims in New York by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

175,430 claims, 144,616 paid, $5.7B in total; 19,079 repetitive-loss and 2,048 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in New York with flood claims (1,089).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1952

Questions and answers

Which New York counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Oneida (32), Suffolk (32) and Chautauqua (29), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which New York counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Nassau (51,523), Suffolk (33,936) and Richmond (19,422) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has New York had?

118 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 0 of them in 2026 so far.

How does New York compare with the national rate?

120.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 8.8 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.