Zena’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Zena comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 22 claims here since 1980.
What stands out about Zena’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
The storms Zena remembers
None of the disasters declared for Ulster County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Zena itself in FEMA’s records.
- 201114 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Ulster County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Zena after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Zena archive →How exposed is Zena?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 972 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Zena covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Zena faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Cold waves
Does Zena flood? Sometimes: 22 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Zena, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene11 claims · $177K
Zena isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Ulster County.Get ready for what Zena 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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.
Zena and its neighbors
Zena ranks 2nd calmest of 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Ulster County’s 29 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 Zena’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Zena.
- 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 Zena, expected losses total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Zena.
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.