Suffolk County, New York: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Suffolk County, New York has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 97.3 out of 100, higher than about 97% of US counties, with winter storms, coastal flooding and inland (river and flash) flooding scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $321 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 34 federal disaster declarations that included Suffolk County since 1965, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4839-NY (Severe Storm and Flooding, declared 21 October 2024). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 32 tornadoes touching Suffolk County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for New York All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 1,524,969 Buildings worth $392 billion Area 2,397 sq mi Risk rank in New York 6 of 62 FIPS 36103
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter weather | Very High | 98.8 | $2.0 million | about 1 a year | 78 |
| Coastal flooding | Very High | 98.6 | $25 million | about 3.8 a year | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively High | 98.3 | $193 million | about 3.5 a year | 99 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 97.7 | $5.8 million | about 3.2 a year | 65 |
| Lightning | Very High | 97.5 | $3.1 million | about 24 a year | 668,574 strikes |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | 96.8 | $43 million | about once every 5.1 years | 90 |
| Ice storm | Very High | 96.5 | $2.4 million | about once every 1.5 years | 25 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 95.9 | $21 million | about once every 610 years | — |
| Cold wave | Relatively High | 95.3 | $14 million | about once every 1.8 years | 4.1 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 94.7 | $6.7 million | about 3.9 a year | 25 |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | 84.6 | $33,182 | about once every 5.7 years | — |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 74.7 | $3.6 million | about once every 2.1 years | 26 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 73.4 | $264,839 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 36.9 | $185,948 | about 1.3 a year | 63 |
| Drought | Very Low | 14.9 | $686 | about once every 7.2 years | 49 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Insufficient Data | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 34
Most common: Hurricane 13, Severe Storm 9, Snowstorm 5, Flood 3.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Drought |
| 1970s | 2 | Hurricane, Flood |
| 1980s | 2 | Hurricane, Flood |
| 1990s | 6 | Hurricane ×2, Snowstorm ×2, Severe Storm, Flood |
| 2000s | 8 | Severe Storm ×3, Other ×2, Hurricane, Snowstorm, Fire |
| 2010s | 8 | Hurricane ×4, Severe Storm ×3, Snowstorm |
| 2020s | 7 | Hurricane ×4, Severe Storm ×2, Snowstorm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Suffolk County
- Hurricane Sandy (2012, EM-3351-NY): 62 New York counties designated.
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (2005, EM-3262-NY): 62 New York counties designated.
- Severe Storms and Flooding (2004, DR-1534-NY): 62 New York counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Ida (2021), Hurricane Henri (2021), Tropical Storm Isaias (2020), Hurricane Sandy (2012), Hurricane Irene (2011), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Floyd (1999), Hurricane Bob (1991), Hurricane Gloria (1985), Hurricane Belle (1976).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. New York also had 7 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 32
| Tornadoes touching the county | 32 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×2 |
| Peak month | August (11) |
| Deadliest | 10 Jul 1989, F2, 0.2 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured |
| Longest path | 13 Nov 2021, EF0, 8.2 mi path |
| Most recent | 25 Sep 2022, EF0, 2.1 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 2 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 18 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Suffolk County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk County (this page) | — | Relatively High | 97.3 | Winter weather |
| Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT | 51 km | Relatively Moderate | 91.8 | Strong wind |
| South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 54 km | Relatively High | 95.1 | Hurricane |
| Nassau County | 63 km | Relatively High | 97.1 | Winter weather |
| Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 70 km | Relatively High | 96.3 | Inland flooding |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT | 70 km | Relatively Moderate | 83.8 | Inland flooding |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in New York, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Low 21.6 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 94.1 |
| Community risk factor | 0.89 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $321 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Suffolk County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for New York · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Winter weather: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Coastal flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Hurricanes and storms now
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods recorded
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Suffolk County
What natural disasters is Suffolk County, New York most at risk from?
Suffolk County, New York has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 97.3 out of 100, higher than about 97% of US counties, with winter storms, coastal flooding and inland (river and flash) flooding scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $321 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Suffolk County had?
OpenFEMA lists 34 federal disaster declarations that included Suffolk County since 1965, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4839-NY (Severe Storm and Flooding, declared 21 October 2024). Another 7 New York declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Suffolk County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 32 tornadoes touching Suffolk County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 10 Jul 1989, F2, 0.2 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.