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Queens County, NY flood insurance claims history

14,948 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Queens County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $707.5M on them. The worst year was 2012 with 7,717 claims. Queens County ranks #4 of 62 in New York by claim count.

At a glance

  • 35% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 51% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Sandy (2012), which paid $630.2M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 95% of the 62 New York counties with any claims on file — and more than 3 of its 5 neighbors.
  • ZIP 11697 has the most claims in the county (2,374, 16%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
14,948
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$707.5M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
86%
12,819 received a payment
Average payout
$55K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
1,305
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-08-23
data as of 2026-09-07

Look up your ZIP code

Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 7,717 claims in 2012
 
 
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Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Queens County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Sandy7,640$630.2M$82K2012
Hurricane Irene1,221$14.1M$12K2011
December Storm - Nor'easter1,030$8.3M$8K1992
Hurricane Ida267$11.9M$44K2021
Torrential rain (FEMA general label)239$1.4M$6K2005
Late-September New York Flooding222$3.9M$17K2023
Not a named storm177$403K$2K1979
Blizzard of 1993167$678K$4K1993
Flooding (FEMA general label)123$175K$1K1980
Mid-spring storms118$2.3M$20K2014
The "Halloween" Storm105$714K$7K1991
March 2010 Nor'easter105$459K$4K2010

76% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

High-risk A zones: 8,742 (58%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 28 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 4,747 (32%)Zone not recorded: 1,431 (10%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)8,742$435.9M$50K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)28$1.1M$40K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)4,747$266.8M$56K
Zone not recorded1,431$3.7M$3K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)8,37456%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt4,19728%
Other causes1,4099%
Stream, river or lake overflow6154%
Alluvial fan overflow2482%
Not recorded991%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Queens County

87 ZIP codes in Queens County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Queens County.

116972,374$160.7M16%372026
116942,312$156.7M15%382023
116912,294$84.9M15%482026
114142,029$76.7M14%452026
116921,631$71.9M11%402024
116931,601$94.1M11%442026
11422377$7.4M3%362026
11365203$1.3M1%242026
11413149$1.1M1%332023
11357138$1.6M1%262023
11354117$4.0M1%252023
11420113$468K1%132026
11355105$1.0M1%242026
1110184$15.4M1%132026
1136377$743K1%252025
1135674$4.9M0%182023
1143473$490K0%212021
1136165$276K0%192025
1137563$1.8M0%172026
1135861$374K0%252026
1136259$217K0%132025
55$180K0%82012
1136451$439K0%212025
1110249$2.2M0%172026
1137747$2.2M0%142026
1136046$365K0%182022
1143546$5.5M0%212024
1137941$186K0%142022
1136640$169K0%152026
1141735$81K0%132026
1137833$2.2M0%152022
1137433$521K0%152026
1136931$193K0%132025
1143330$661K0%122021
1143229$191K0%132023
1141223$35K0%82011
1142322$313K0%112026
1136721$100K0%92021
1143620$548K0%112023
1138519$299K0%92026
1110519$351K0%102021
1141817$57K0%82023
1137317$105K0%102026
1136817$1.0M0%92026
1141116$39K0%72011
1142115$27K0%102024
1110315$137K0%112023
1110615$421K0%82025
1142713$57K0%82023
1137211$59K0%82026
1122711$7K0%51984
114169$21K0%31981
111048$31K0%42021
114288$30K0%62026
114298$50K0%82015
110048$5K0%72019
116907$946K0%32012
113707$142K0%32025
114197$14K0%72023
114266$13K0%42026
115594$154K0%12012
106913$49K0%32012
110403$4K0%32014
114153$2K0%31989
111093$500K0%12012
116953$134K0%32012
111362$3K0%21984
110202$00%22023
100972$12K0%22003
110012$00%21985
114241$73K0%12012
115801$00%11979
100751$4190%11980
111201$142K0%12023
100211$266K0%12012
117531$00%11992
116961$3K0%11992
106041$00%11992
110241$00%11983
112091$00%12012
113521$00%11984
116741$16K0%12012
117931$2000%11979
174211$4K0%11979
117701$11K0%12012
110971$34K0%11992
115611$00%11985

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Queens County flood?

October accounts for the most flood losses (8,257 claims, 55%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January5784%
February1701%
March5013%
April4033%
May1591%
June3282%
July3662%
August1,73512%
September8035%
October8,25755%
November1041%
December1,54410%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
202651$905K
202528$570K
202472$839K
2023273$5.3M
2022454$10.3M
2021308$12.1M
202014$9K
201916$297K
201873$939K
201716$22K
201624$228K
201513$15K
2014172$2.5M
201328$61K
20127,717$631.7M
20111,342$14.7M
2010138$664K
200933$229K
200838$691K
2007125$1.8M
200628$293K
2005267$1.6M
200464$491K
200325$31K
200223$46K
200120$16K
200022$889K
199966$934K
199828$589K
199718$1.2M
1996147$2.4M
199521$525K
199422$16K
1993189$990K
19921,058$8.5M
1991136$979K
199016$126K
198950$78K
19889$5K
198787$259K
198614$28K
198578$134K
1984360$958K
1983173$244K
198266$67K
1981160$386K
1980331$619K
1979358$754K
1978177$409K

Neighboring counties

Queens County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Queens County (this page)14,948$707.5M35%
Nassau County51,523$2.28B29%
Richmond County19,422$282.2M23%
Kings County6,319$329.9M39%
Bronx County1,945$27.4M31%
New York County1,498$120.8M31%

All 62 New York counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Queens County

Has Queens County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-23, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (1,305 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 35% of Queens County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 36081, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.

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