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Delaware County, NY flood insurance claims history

1,291 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Delaware County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $39.6M on them. The worst year was 2006 with 445 claims. Delaware County ranks #15 of 62 in New York by claim count.

At a glance

  • 19% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 18% of all claims trace to a single event — Tropical Storm Lee (2011), which paid $9.6M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 77% of the 62 New York counties with any claims on file — and more than 6 of its 7 neighbors.
  • ZIP 13838 has the most claims in the county (361, 28%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
1,291
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$39.6M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
88%
1,131 received a payment
Average payout
$35K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
27
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-09-02
data as of 2026-09-07

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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: 445 claims in 2006
 
 
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'85
 
 
 
 
'90
 
 
 
 
'95
 
 
 
 
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'05
 
 
 
 
'10
 
 
 
 
'15
 
 
 
 
'20
 
 
 
 
'25
 

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 Delaware County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Tropical Storm Lee238$9.6M$40K2011
Flooding (FEMA general label)134$1.6M$12K1996
Hurricane Irene127$6.7M$53K2011
Torrential rain (FEMA general label)79$787K$10K2005
Hurricane Debby12$163K$14K2024
Flooding (FEMA general label)10$26K$3K1981
Flooding (FEMA general label)6$9K$2K1987
Flooding (FEMA general label)4$14K$3K1980
Hurricane Gloria4$9K$2K1985
Hurricane Sandy3$0$02012
March 2010 Nor'easter2$18K$9K2010
Not a named storm2$6K$3K1979

48% 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: 975 (76%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 0 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 235 (18%)Zone not recorded: 81 (6%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)975$35.6M$37K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)235$3.7M$16K
Zone not recorded81$315K$4K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt60547%
Stream, river or lake overflow58045%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)524%
Other causes393%
Not recorded121%
Closed basin lake20%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Delaware County

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

13838361$16.2M28%152026
13856225$8.3M17%122017
12455138$5.6M11%142024
1375495$2.0M7%62011
1375590$1.8M7%102024
1375652$872K4%142024
1378348$711K4%112023
1243040$968K3%102017
1240637$719K3%62011
1373134$368K3%92024
1375329$200K2%72018
1277627$714K2%72017
1247416$139K1%92019
1378213$108K1%62011
138609$94K1%42019
138499$133K1%42011
137757$40K1%52013
138396$68K0%42006
137505$13K0%42006
138375$48K0%32005
127605$45K0%42013
124384$154K0%32011
124213$59K0%32011
138063$27K0%22006
137523$40K0%32018
138422$00%22025
137572$14K0%22006
138202$81K0%22011
121672$13K0%22006
138042$2K0%11996
138542$26K0%22006
138462$00%22014
137742$32K0%22006
138252$117K0%22011
137511$4490%12010
137881$00%12011
127281$13K0%12005
121551$7K0%12006
137421$00%11986
124561$00%11996
100141$00%11989
1$5070%11980
124591$9K0%12024

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

When does Delaware County flood?

June accounts for the most flood losses (434 claims, 34%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January14711%
February222%
March433%
April947%
May111%
June43434%
July262%
August14311%
September31224%
October292%
November161%
December141%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20261$0
20251$0
202412$163K
20232$134
20202$12K
20193$9K
20183$34K
20173$8K
20151$0
20141$0
20135$17K
20124$0
2011369$16.3M
201018$130K
20091$3K
20086$83K
20072$4K
2006445$18.9M
200585$829K
200467$1.1M
20036$34K
20012$6K
20005$3K
19993$67K
19982$6K
1996157$1.7M
19941$0
19932$0
19922$34K
19911$0
19891$0
19878$10K
198611$12K
19854$9K
19841$0
19835$5K
19829$11K
198113$35K
19805$14K
197917$32K
19785$8K

Neighboring counties

Delaware County borders 7 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Delaware County (this page)1,291$39.6M19%
Broome County3,103$138.3M52%
Ulster County1,279$30.2M32%
Sullivan County945$16.2M30%
Schoharie County666$31.4M19%
Chenango County632$11.4M29%
Greene County587$19.1M31%
Otsego County463$9.0M30%

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

Common questions about flooding in Delaware County

Has Delaware County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-09-02, and claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years (27 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 19% of Delaware 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 36025, 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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