Ulster County, New York: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Ulster County, New York has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 87.7 out of 100, higher than about 87% of US counties, with landslides, inland (river and flash) flooding and strong winds scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $67 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 35 federal disaster declarations that included Ulster County since 1965, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4615-NY (Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared 5 September 2021). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 14 tornadoes touching Ulster County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for New York All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 181,692 Buildings worth $50 billion Area 1,173 sq mi Risk rank in New York 15 of 62 FIPS 36111
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 94.1 | $100,846 | about 1.7 a year | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 91.9 | $45 million | about 3.6 a year | 102 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 91.6 | $2.2 million | about 2.9 a year | 109 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 87.6 | $5.9 million | about once every 3.0 years | 5 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | 86.9 | $4.6 million | about once every 18 years | 26 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 84.8 | $887,197 | about 3 a year | 144,691 strikes |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 82.8 | $994,144 | about 2.7 a year | 103 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 81.5 | $3.9 million | about 3.5 a year | 65 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 80.6 | $1.7 million | about once every 746 years | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 72.8 | $245,731 | about once every 1.6 years | 42 |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | 71.1 | $4,993 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 68.8 | $119,336 | about 18 a year | 332 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 66.3 | $750,345 | about 3.4 a year | 57 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Low | 53.6 | $221,372 | about 3.8 a year | — |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 52.9 | $52,779 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 49.7 | $136,703 | about once every 1.8 years | 49 |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| 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 35
Most common: Severe Storm 10, Hurricane 9, Flood 7, Snowstorm 5.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Drought |
| 1970s | 3 | Flood ×3 |
| 1980s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1990s | 4 | Snowstorm ×2, Hurricane, Flood |
| 2000s | 15 | Severe Storm ×9, Other ×2, Snowstorm ×2, Hurricane, Fire |
| 2010s | 7 | Hurricane ×4, Snowstorm, Severe Storm, Flood |
| 2020s | 3 | Hurricane ×3 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Ulster 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), Hurricane Sandy (2012), Tropical Storm Lee (2011), Hurricane Irene (2011), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Tropical Depression Ivan (2004), Hurricane Floyd (1999), Tropical Storm Agnes (1972).
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 14
| Tornadoes touching the county | 14 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×3 |
| Peak month | May (3) |
| Deadliest | 20 Sep 1975, F1, 14.2 mi path, 0 killed, 3 injured |
| Longest path | 20 Sep 1975, F1, 14.2 mi path, 0 killed, 3 injured |
| Most recent | 9 Aug 2024, EF0, 0.6 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 5 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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 Ulster County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster County (this page) | — | Relatively Moderate | 87.7 | Landslide |
| Greene County | 45 km | Relatively Low | 68.3 | Inland flooding |
| Dutchess County | 45 km | Relatively Moderate | 88.3 | Inland flooding |
| Sullivan County | 46 km | Relatively Low | 78.3 | Inland flooding |
| Orange County | 54 km | Relatively Moderate | 90.6 | Strong wind |
| Columbia County | 66 km | Relatively Low | 68.7 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in New York, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Moderate 45.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 80.7 |
| Community risk factor | 1.08 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $67 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 Ulster County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for New York · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods recorded
- Strong wind: Power outages now
- 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 Ulster County
What natural disasters is Ulster County, New York most at risk from?
Ulster County, New York has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 87.7 out of 100, higher than about 87% of US counties, with landslides, inland (river and flash) flooding and strong winds scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $67 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Ulster County had?
OpenFEMA lists 35 federal disaster declarations that included Ulster County since 1965, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4615-NY (Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared 5 September 2021). Another 7 New York declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Ulster County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 14 tornadoes touching Ulster County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 20 Sep 1975, F1, 14.2 mi path, 0 killed, 3 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.