Natural hazards · Hempstead

Hempstead, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hempstead comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 2010. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Hempstead?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hempstead to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding65%Earthquakes11%Hurricanes7%Cold waves5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Hempstead faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Hempstead flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hempstead, from FEMA’s records.

12paid claims since 2010

$222Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20102026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Sandy: 8 claims, $153K
Late summer storms: 1 claim, $15K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Hempstead isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Nassau County.

Disasters that hit Hempstead

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Hempstead itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Village of Hempstead.

Brought FEMA money into HempsteadDeclared for Nassau County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

203 households applied for aid $274K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Sandy

1,051 households applied for aid $372K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

40 households applied for aid $32K aid approved

Nassau County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Hempstead

Hempstead and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Hempsteadmostly inland floodingLow

Garden Citymostly inland floodingVery low

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Hempstead covers 11 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Hempstead’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Hempstead. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Hempstead total about $7.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.