Storms, floods and disasters in Blauvelt
Blauvelt isn’t graded for hazard risk: Blauvelt is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 30 claims here since 1978.
What Blauvelt 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
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
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.
Does Blauvelt flood? Sometimes: 30 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Blauvelt, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida2 claims · $68K
- Hurricane Floyd1 claim · $6K
Blauvelt isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rockland County.The storms Blauvelt remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Rockland County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Blauvelt itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19806 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19795 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19845 flood claims paidThe year of Coastal Storms and Flooding, declared for Rockland County
Rockland County has had 21 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 Blauvelt after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Blauvelt archive →Blauvelt and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarkstown | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 724 |
| Orangetown | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 292 |
| Pearl River | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Orangeburg | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| West Nyack | — | 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 Blauvelt 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Blauvelt
Does Blauvelt flood?
Flood insurance has paid 30 claims in Blauvelt since 1978, $199K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (2).
Is Blauvelt 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 Rockland County, 50% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Blauvelt?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blauvelt’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 Blauvelt?
By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 2 paid, $68K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blauvelt.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blauvelt’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.