Natural hazards · New Hempstead

New Hempstead, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in New Hempstead comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1999. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is New Hempstead?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in New Hempstead to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding57%Cold waves10%Strong wind7%Tornadoes6%Heat waves6%Earthquakes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What New Hempstead faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 4% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingWildfireDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 New Hempstead flood?

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

6paid claims since 1999

$85Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19992026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Floyd: 2 claims, $2K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. New 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: Rockland County.

Disasters that hit New Hempstead

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into New HempsteadDeclared for Rockland County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Sandy

1 household applied for aid

Rockland County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around New Hempstead

New Hempstead and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Spring Valleymostly inland floodingLow

New Squaremostly inland floodingVery low

Wesley Hillsmostly inland floodingVery low

New Hempsteadmostly 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. New Hempstead covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to New Hempstead’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of New 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 New Hempstead total about $588K 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.