Natural hazards · New Square

New Square, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in New Square comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is New Square?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in New Square to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding50%Cold waves13%Strong wind9%Heat waves8%Tornadoes6%Hurricanes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What New Square faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Square flood?

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

8paid claims since 1978

$28Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $15K
Not a named storm: 1 claim, $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 Square 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 Square

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into New SquareDeclared for Rockland County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved

2012

Hurricane Sandy

1 household applied for aid $130K to the Village of New Square for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$5K to the Village of New Square for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$7K to the Village of New Square for repairs

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

Around New Square

New Square and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

New Squaremostly 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 Square covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to New Square’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of New Square. 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 Square total about $1.0M 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.