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Natural hazards · Islip

Islip, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Islip comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4,791 claims here since 1978. 12 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Islip?

12
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Islip to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding55%Hurricanes13%Coastal flooding11%Earthquakes7%Cold waves5%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Islip faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Coastal flooding

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

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

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Islip flood?

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

4,791paid claims since 1978
$221Mpaid to owners
547homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Sandy: 2,503 claims, $181M
  • The “Halloween” storm: 299 claims, $3.4M
  • December Storm - Nor'easter: 263 claims, $7.2M

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 10 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (90) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Islip isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Suffolk County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level
Disasters that hit Islip

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into IslipDeclared for Suffolk County only
2022

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$57K to the Town of Islip for repairs
2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

62 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
2020

Tropical Storm Isaias

$4.2M to the Town of Islip for repairs
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$3K to the Town of Islip for repairs
2013

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$907K to the Town of Islip for repairs
2012

Hurricane Sandy

300 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $18.9M to the Town of Islip for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

14 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $1.8M to the Town of Islip for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$1.4M to the Town of Islip for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$531K to the Town of Islip for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding Assoc W Td Ida & Nor'easter

$1.6M to the Town of Islip for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$2.0M to the Town of Islip for repairs
2003

Snow

$612K to the Town of Islip for repairs
Suffolk County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around Islip

Islip and the towns around it

Brookhaven: Low, mostly inland floodingBabylon: Low, mostly inland floodingBabylon: Low, mostly inland floodingSmithtown: Very low, mostly inland floodingHuntington: Very low, mostly inland floodingRiverhead: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouthampton: Low, mostly inland floodingHead of the Harbor: Very low, mostly inland floodingLake Grove: Very low, mostly inland floodingWest Hampton Dunes: Moderate, mostly inland floodingOyster Bay: Very low, mostly inland floodingAmityville: High, mostly inland floodingLloyd Harbor: Very low, mostly inland floodingLaurel Hollow: Very low, mostly inland floodingIslip: Very low, mostly inland flooding IslipBrookhavenBabylonBabylonSmithtownHuntington
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Babylonmostly inland floodingLow
Babylonmostly inland floodingLow
Brookhavenmostly inland floodingLow
Islipmostly inland floodingVery low
Smithtownmostly inland floodingVery low
Huntingtonmostly 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. Islip covers 81 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Islip’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Islip. 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 Islip total about $61.4M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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