Shirley is calmer than 84% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shirley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 2005.
What stands out about Shirley’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Shirley?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 1,211 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Shirley covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.
What Shirley faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
Cold waves
Does Shirley flood? Sometimes: 20 flood claims since 2005
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Shirley, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Sandy8 claims · $205K
- The March 2010 nor’easter2 claims · $32K
- The Torrential rain2 claims · $14K
Shirley 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.Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Suffolk County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Shirley itself in FEMA’s records.
Suffolk County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Get ready for what Shirley actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–September
The month each of Suffolk County’s 28 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Shirley’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Shirley.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Shirley, expected losses total about $3.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Shirley.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.