Stony Brook is calmer than 76% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Stony Brook comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1980.
What stands out about Stony Brook’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Stony Brook faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Coastal flooding
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
How exposed is Stony Brook?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 1,062 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Stony Brook covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.
Does Stony Brook flood? Sometimes: 13 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Stony Brook, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Sandy3 claims · $76K
- Hurricane Ida1 claim · $5K
- Hurricane Irene1 claim · $4K
Stony Brook 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 Stony Brook 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 Stony Brook 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- 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.
Stony Brook and its neighbors
Stony Brook has the highest rating of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook | Low | inland flooding | 13 |
| Brookhaven | Low | inland flooding | 3,825 |
| Lake Grove | Very low | inland flooding | 1 |
| Old Field | Very low | inland flooding | 15 |
| Head of the Harbor | Very low | inland flooding | 3 |
| Smithtown | Very low | inland flooding | 225 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
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 Stony Brook’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Stony Brook.
- 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 Stony Brook, expected losses total about $3.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stony Brook.
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.