Photo: Agiorgio · CC BY-SA 3.0For coastal flooding, Atlantic Beach’s building-damage rate is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Atlantic Beach gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%). Flood insurance has paid 320 claims here since 1989.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Atlantic Beach’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Atlantic Beach faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
Earthquakes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Atlantic Beach’s grade
River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Atlantic Beach, and Atlantic Beach’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 6%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Atlantic Beach’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $698K a year in losses across Atlantic Beach: $552K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Atlantic Beach flood? Yes: 320 flood claims since 1989
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Atlantic Beach, from FEMA’s records: 326.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 99% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Sandy223 claims · $11.3M
- Hurricane Irene29 claims · $733K
- The Late-September New York Flooding22 claims · $256K
Atlantic Beach isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nassau County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Atlantic Beach
Disasters that paid out in Atlantic Beach itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Atlantic Beach), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2012Hurricane Sandy741 households applied for aid$2.2M aid approved$1.2M to the Village of Atlantic Beach for repairs223 flood claims paid for it, $11.3M
- 2011Hurricane Irene22 households applied for aid$34K aid approved$126K to the Village of Atlantic Beach for repairs29 flood claims paid for it, $733K
- 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Village of Atlantic Beach for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Nassau County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Old photos of Atlantic Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Atlantic Beach archive →Atlantic Beach and its neighbors
Atlantic Beach is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 36,272 |
| Lawrence | B+less damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 387 |
| Hempstead | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 19,033 |
| Atlantic Beach | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 320 |
| East Atlantic Beach | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Atlantic Beach faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, 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.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Questions about natural hazards in Atlantic Beach
Is Atlantic Beach at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Atlantic Beach has lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and hurricanes (8%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Atlantic Beach flood?
Flood insurance has paid 320 claims in Atlantic Beach since 1989, $13.4M in all, or 326.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 99% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 72 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (223).
Is Atlantic Beach in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Nassau County, 76% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 9.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Atlantic Beach?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Atlantic Beach’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Atlantic Beach?
By FEMA money that reached Atlantic Beach, Hurricane Sandy (2012): 741 households applied for aid, $2.2M approved, and $1.2M to the Village of Atlantic Beach for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 223 paid, $11.3M.
Is Atlantic Beach at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Atlantic Beach’s rate for it is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Atlantic Beach.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Atlantic Beach’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.