FEMA Records
36
Very high volume
New York · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Suffolk County, NY
36 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2025), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 36
- FEMA declarations
- 25
- Major disasters
- 97
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Suffolk County. Its 36 FEMA declarations are 47% above the New York county mean and exceed the count for 94% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 3%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 3%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 36
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 33,922
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
How does Suffolk County compare?
Suffolk County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
36 Top 6% higher than 94% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
Suffolk County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the New York county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Suffolk County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $193.3M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Winter Weather carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Suffolk County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 33,922 claims and $1.1B in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $32.8K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Suffolk County's 36 federal records stand 47% above the New York county mean of 24.5. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 97.3/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $320.5M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Winter Weather stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 10 times per year here, based on 78 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 36 entries for Suffolk County, including 25 Major Disaster records, 47% above the New York county mean. Across the 60-year span, that works out to 0.6 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 13 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
81 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Suffolk County, NY · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
26/30
36 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
18/25
36 declarations (1.5x state county average of 25)
Major Disaster Share High
17/25
25 of 36 declarations are major disasters (69%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Suffolk County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. New York Avg
+47%
State avg: 24.5
vs. National Avg
+74%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.6
Over 60 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Suffolk County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
69%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
97
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Suffolk County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | Very High | an average of 10 times per year |
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 3.8 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 3.5 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 3.2 times per year |
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 24 times per year |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | roughly once every 5 years |
| Ice Storm | Very High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 608 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 3.9 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 6 years |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 5,837 years |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 0.1 modeled event-days per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 13
Severe Storm 9
Snowstorm 5
Flood 3
Biological 2
Other 2
Fire 1
Drought 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Suffolk County's federal record, 36% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 25 69.4%
of all 36 declarations
Emergency - 11 30.6%
of all 36 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 2 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
Show 9 earlier declaration years
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 36 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 36 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4839 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-10-21 |
| 3613 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2024-08-25 |
| 4694 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2023-03-15 |
| 4615 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-09-05 |
| 3572 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-09-02 |
| 3565 | HURRICANE HENRI | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-22 |
| 4567 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR | Hurricane | 2020-10-02 |
| 4480 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-20 |
| 3434 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4322 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2017-07-12 |
| 4111 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-04-23 |
| 4085 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3351 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4020 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3328 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1957 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-02-18 |
| 1899 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-04-16 |
| 1869 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOC W TD IDA & NOR'EASTER | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-12-31 |
| 1692 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-24 |
| 3262 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-30 |
Show 16 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1534 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-08-03 |
| 3186 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-08-23 |
| 3184 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-27 |
| 1391 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | DR | Fire | 2001-09-11 |
| 3155 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-10-11 |
| 1296 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-19 |
| 1146 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, HEAVY RAINS, HIGH WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-11-19 |
| 1083 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-12 |
| 3107 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 974 | COASTAL STORM, HIGH TIDES, HEAVY RAIN, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1992-12-21 |
| 918 | HURRICANE BOB | DR | Hurricane | 1991-09-16 |
| 750 | HURRICANE GLORIA | DR | Hurricane | 1985-10-18 |
| 702 | COASTAL STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-04-17 |
| 520 | HURRICANE BELLE | DR | Hurricane | 1976-09-03 |
| 311 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-13 |
| 204 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in New York
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Suffolk County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 8,295 | 6 | 45 | $45.0M |
| Winter Weather | 2,261 | 7 | 17 | $705.5K |
| Flash Flood | 1,775 | 23 | 3 | $674.3M |
| Strong Wind | 1,399 | 2 | 12 | $9.2M |
| Winter Storm | 1,228 | 13 | 2 | $4.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
33,922
Total Paid
$1.1B
Avg Per Claim
$32.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 97.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$320.5M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Winter Weather Very High
Coastal Flooding Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Lightning Very High
Hurricane Relatively High
Ice Storm Very High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Drought Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Winter Weather
Winter Weather in the model means the accumulation of snow and cold that disrupts rather than destroys: road closures, roof loads, burst pipes and lost heating. Its costs land heavily on transport and on households least able to absorb an interruption.
Worth noting for Suffolk County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Winter Weather carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Suffolk County's closest FEMA peer: Comanche County, OK
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Suffolk County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Suffolk County shows 36 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Suffolk County: 25 of 36 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Suffolk County: NRI composite 97.3 (Relatively High).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Suffolk County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Suffolk County's NFIP claims file (33,922 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Suffolk County?
The most common disaster type in Suffolk County is Hurricane, with 13 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (9), Snowstorm (5), Flood (3).
How does Suffolk County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New York average?
FEMA lists 36 declaration records for Suffolk County. That is 47% above the New York county mean of 24.5. Its count is also 74% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Suffolk County received?
Suffolk County has received 25 major disaster declarations, representing 69% of all 36 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Suffolk County filed?
Suffolk County has 33,922 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.1B in payments, with an average of $32.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Suffolk County?
No. In Suffolk County, Winter Weather has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $193.3M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Suffolk County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Suffolk County was 2021, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2025.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Suffolk County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Suffolk County, New York has an overall risk score of 97.3 out of 100 (Relatively High). Social vulnerability here rates Relatively Low, while community resilience comes in at Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $320.5M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Suffolk County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Suffolk County is Winter Weather (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Coastal Flooding (Very High) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts winter weather here at an average of 10 times per year, drawn from 78 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against exposed assets and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
What this means for Suffolk County
Suffolk County, NY has 36 federal declaration records, 47% more than the New York county mean of 25; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 25 of 36 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. New York overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the New York mean and the totals for 94% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.