FEMA declarations
118
High volume
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
New York Natural Disasters
New York carries a substantial federal disaster record. 118 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by severe storm, with $993.1M in combined property and crop damage. The count also reflects declaration policy and program use; it is not a direct measure of physical hazard frequency. NOAA storm event data shows 21,653 recorded weather events resulting in 158 fatalities, figures the state uses to prioritize disaster-preparedness planning.
- 118
- FEMA declarations
- 21,653
- NOAA storm events
- 158
- Storm fatalities
- $993.1M
- Property + crop damage
The New York risk picture
8 of the 62 counties FEMA scores, 13%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with riverine flooding the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. New York has 85 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 168 injuries statewide.
- 13%
- of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 118
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $993.1M
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 174,401
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed statewide
FEMA's National Risk Index and NOAA's Storm Events Database measure different things: modeled long-run risk vs. observed severe-weather events. Storm Events is a reported dataset, so its counts track what was observed and logged, not every event that occurred, and reporting is denser where more people live. See the methodology for how they relate.
Major Disaster share
72%
Major-heavy
NOAA storm events
21,653
Observed severe-weather records
How does New York compare?
New York vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
118 Top 15% higher than 85% of 59 states and territories
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. 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
New York county risk-score spread
FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100
69.4 48th percentile higher than 48% of 62 county composite scores
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more county composite scores. 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 National Risk Index (NRI), county composite scores · 2026-08-03
The declaration chart counts past federal actions. The county score chart summarizes FEMA's modeled National Risk Index composite; it is not a forecast, and a state average does not describe every county.
Do more storms mean more federal disasters?
New York sits at the 84th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 82nd percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.
FEMA declaration rank vs NOAA storm-event rank
Read the chart, every state as text
Percentiles are within this release's state/territory sample. Raw counts are the underlying FEMA and NOAA totals.
| State | FEMA decls | FEMA %ile | NOAA storms | NOAA %ile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 396 | 98 | 23,694 | 93 |
| Texas | 389 | 96 | 53,309 | 98 |
| Oklahoma | 258 | 95 | 23,896 | 95 |
| Washington | 215 | 93 | 4,408 | 22 |
| Florida | 188 | 91 | 12,838 | 55 |
| Oregon | 169 | 89 | 3,695 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 126 | 87 | 10,974 | 45 |
| Arizona | 120 | 85 | 9,541 | 38 |
| New York | 118 | 84 | 21,653 | 82 |
| Montana | 112 | 82 | 13,576 | 56 |
| Colorado | 111 | 78 | 18,340 | 73 |
| Louisiana | 111 | 78 | 11,204 | 47 |
| Nevada | 110 | 76 | 4,534 | 24 |
| Alabama | 102 | 75 | 14,583 | 64 |
| Kentucky | 98 | 71 | 19,947 | 78 |
| Mississippi | 98 | 71 | 14,100 | 62 |
| Tennessee | 97 | 69 | 16,645 | 69 |
| South Dakota | 96 | 67 | 22,759 | 87 |
| Alaska | 94 | 64 | 2,683 | 15 |
| Kansas | 94 | 64 | 25,115 | 96 |
| Arkansas | 87 | 60 | 13,637 | 58 |
| Nebraska | 87 | 60 | 20,136 | 80 |
| Missouri | 86 | 58 | 22,952 | 89 |
| North Carolina | 85 | 56 | 16,367 | 67 |
| West Virginia | 84 | 55 | 12,026 | 49 |
| Georgia | 81 | 51 | 16,676 | 71 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 51 | 19,109 | 75 |
| Iowa | 78 | 49 | 21,883 | 84 |
| Virginia | 77 | 47 | 23,584 | 91 |
| North Dakota | 75 | 45 | 10,818 | 44 |
| Hawaii | 72 | 44 | 6,200 | 31 |
| Maine | 71 | 42 | 4,781 | 27 |
| Illinois | 68 | 40 | 22,088 | 85 |
| Pennsylvania | 64 | 38 | 19,427 | 76 |
| New Hampshire | 63 | 36 | 2,547 | 11 |
| Vermont | 62 | 35 | 3,449 | 18 |
| Idaho | 60 | 31 | 5,142 | 29 |
| Ohio | 60 | 31 | 16,184 | 65 |
| Massachusetts | 59 | 25 | 6,781 | 33 |
| New Jersey | 59 | 25 | 8,218 | 35 |
| Utah | 59 | 25 | 4,578 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 56 | 24 | 13,807 | 60 |
| Indiana | 54 | 22 | 12,687 | 53 |
| Puerto Rico | 51 | 18 | 2,944 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 51 | 18 | 10,520 | 42 |
| Michigan | 46 | 16 | 9,052 | 36 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 15 | 12,494 | 51 |
| Connecticut | 43 | 13 | 2,622 | 13 |
| Maryland | 38 | 11 | 10,290 | 40 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 33 | 9 | 88 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 31 | 7 | 924 | 7 |
| Delaware | 26 | 5 | 1,475 | 9 |
| Guam | 25 | 4 | 258 | 2 |
| District of Columbia | 24 | 2 | 452 | 5 |
| American Samoa | 17 | 0 | 292 | 4 |
What shapes New York's record?
FEMA declaration types in New York
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Severe Storm
Severe Storm
31 declarations
- Flood
Flood
27 declarations
- Snowstorm
Snowstorm
21 declarations
- Hurricane
Hurricane
17 declarations
- Fire 4
Fire
4 declarations
- Biological 4
Biological
4 declarations
- Other 2
Other
2 declarations
- Severe Ice Storm 2
Severe Ice Storm
2 declarations
What this shows Severe Storm leads New York's FEMA declaration mix with 31 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year
Reported severe-weather events in New York, 2015–2025 catalog window.
Peak year in this series: 2019 (2,498 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
82 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
New York · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite mixing OpenFEMA declaration totals (1953–present) with NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025), different windows and event definitions, disclosed weights on the methodology page . 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) High
20/30
118 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.3x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Very High
25/25
21653 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (2.0x median state)
NOAA Damage (2015–2025) High
17/25
Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (1.7x median state)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
15 different disaster types declared in New York
What does New York's hazard record show?
Flood exposure & where to dig deeper
Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 62New York counties have filed 174,401 NFIP claims totaling $5.7B, or an average of $32.9K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Riverine Flooding, estimated at $2.8B annually. Drill into individual counties for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.
NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index
NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, New York recorded 21,653 individual storm events, causing 158 fatalities and 168 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $993.1M. The most frequent event types in the state are Thunderstorm Wind (8,295 events), Winter Weather (2,261 events), Flash Flood (1,775 events). Across the 62counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 8 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 69.4/100.
What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.
FEMA disaster declarations
New York (NY) has a high level of federal declaration activity, with 118 FEMA declaration records, including 85 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Severe Storm, followed by Flood (27), Snowstorm (21), Hurricane (17). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.
Disaster Types in New York
Severe Storm 31
Flood 27
Snowstorm 21
Hurricane 17
Fire 4
Biological 4
Other 2
Severe Ice Storm 2
Winter Storm 2
Tropical Storm 2
Toxic Substances 2
Drought 1
Tornado 1
Earthquake 1
Human Cause 1
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for New York (2015-2025).
| Event 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 |
| High Wind | 1,033 | 4 | 15 | $33.0M |
| Hail | 825 | 0 | 0 | $20.3M |
| Heat | 797 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Lake-Effect Snow | 669 | 3 | 3 | $37.8M |
| Flood | 619 | 1 | 0 | $57.8M |
| Heavy Snow | 618 | 1 | 0 | $776.9K |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 458 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 304 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Frost/Freeze | 220 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Coastal Flood | 158 | 0 | 0 | $6.0M |
| Drought | 147 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 146 | 0 | 0 | $14.0K |
| Lightning | 136 | 7 | 53 | $2.7M |
| Tornado | 114 | 5 | 2 | $12.0M |
| Excessive Heat | 103 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,093 | 11 | 20 | $32.7M |
| 2024 | 2,268 | 10 | 12 | $94.5M |
| 2023 | 1,825 | 5 | 10 | $11.7M |
| 2022 | 1,991 | 56 | 7 | $57.6M |
| 2021 | 2,395 | 22 | 11 | $522.3M |
| 2020 | 1,968 | 14 | 6 | $70.8M |
| 2019 | 2,498 | 6 | 14 | $86.2M |
| 2018 | 1,985 | 14 | 19 | $14.5M |
| 2017 | 2,024 | 2 | 19 | $52.2M |
| 2016 | 1,334 | 13 | 49 | $17.0M |
| 2015 | 1,272 | 5 | 1 | $32.5M |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 118 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 118 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
118 unique disaster declarations in New York.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5547 | JENNINGS CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-11-15 |
| 4839 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-10-21 |
| 4825 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-24 |
| 4818 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-20 |
| 4814 | SEVERE STORM, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-08-29 |
| 3613 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2024-08-25 |
| 4755 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2024-01-30 |
| 4723 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-07-22 |
| 4694 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2023-03-15 |
| 3590 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2022-12-26 |
| 3589 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2022-11-20 |
| 4625 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FRED | DR | Hurricane | 2021-10-08 |
| 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 |
| 3504 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 3557 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4472 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-12-19 |
| 4397 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2018-10-01 |
| 4348 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2017-11-14 |
| 4322 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2017-07-12 |
| 4204 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR | Snowstorm | 2014-12-22 |
| 4180 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2014-07-08 |
| 4129 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2013-07-12 |
| 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 |
| 4031 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-09-13 |
| 3341 | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-09-08 |
| 4020 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3328 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-26 |
| 1993 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Flood | 2011-06-10 |
| 1957 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-02-18 |
| 1943 | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Tornado | 2010-10-14 |
| 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 |
| 1857 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-09-01 |
| 1827 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2009-03-04 |
| 3299 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2008-12-18 |
| 1724 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADO | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-08-31 |
| 1710 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-07-02 |
| 1692 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-24 |
| 3273 | RECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2007-02-23 |
| 1670 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-12-12 |
| 1665 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-10-24 |
| 3268 | LAKE EFFECT SNOWSTORM | EM | Snowstorm | 2006-10-15 |
| 1650 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-07-01 |
Showing 50 of 118 declarations.
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for New York counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
69.4/100
High Risk Counties
8
of 62 counties
Top Hazard by EAL
Riverine Flooding
$2.8B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Riverine Flooding
$2.8B EAL
#2
Cold Wave
$309.9M EAL
#3
Heat Wave
$269.8M EAL
#4
Hurricane
$242.0M EAL
#5
Earthquake
$234.4M EAL
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
National Flood Insurance Program claims across New York from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
174,401
Total Paid
$5.7B
Avg Per Claim
$32.9K
Counties With Claims
62
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Counties in New York
62 counties with FEMA disaster data.
Highest-risk counties by FEMA National Risk Index
Declaration counts above measure past federal action; FEMA's NRI is a composite of Expected Annual Loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. By that separate measure the highest-risk counties in New York are Kings (99.3), Queens (99.2), New York (98.8), Bronx (98.3), Erie (97.7). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.
All 62 counties in New York are listed above.
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.
Preparing for Natural Disasters
Essential steps to prepare your household for the most common natural hazards.
Hazard Risk by Region
How natural disaster risk varies across different US regions.
Climate Change & Disasters
How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What natural disasters affect New York?
New York is affected by severe storm, flood, snowstorm, hurricane. Topping the list is Severe Storm, based on 118 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has New York had?
New York has received 118 FEMA disaster declarations, including 85 major disaster declarations. That total is spread across disaster types including Severe Storm (31), Flood (27), Snowstorm (21).
What severe weather events are most common in New York?
The most common severe weather events in New York include thunderstorm wind (8,295 events), winter weather (2,261 events), flash flood (1,775 events). Over that 2015-2025 NOAA record, these events resulted in 158 fatalities and $993.1M in property and crop damage.
How active is New York's federal disaster declaration record?
New York has a high level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 118 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 158 fatalities and 168 injuries. Combined NOAA-listed property and crop losses total $993.1M.
How many flood insurance claims has New York had?
New York has 174,401 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $5.7B total paid out. Per-claim payments average $32.9K, with 62 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which counties in New York have the most disaster declarations?
Among 62 counties in New York, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Delaware (39 declarations), Ulster (37 declarations), Suffolk (36 declarations). Breaking the declarations down by county reveals patterns a statewide total can mask.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
What this means for New York
Delaware alone accounts for 33% of New York's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 62 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: Delaware and Ulster carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how New York ranks against other states for disaster frequency and damage. State rankings
- Learn what FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and damage figures do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts and damage totals describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
PlainHazard derives this presentation from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries. Its county 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.
Related
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.