Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Denning
Denning isn’t graded for hazard risk: Denning has 587 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1980.
What Denning 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
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 Denning flood? Sometimes: 11 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Denning, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene7 claims · $126K
- The Torrential rain1 claim · $83K
Denning isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Ulster County.14 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Denning
Disasters that paid out in Denning itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Denning), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$18K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$69K to the Town of Denning for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee$3K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$943K to the Town of Denning for repairs7 flood claims paid for it, $126K
- 2011Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$63K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$428K to the Town of Denning for repairs
Show all 14
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$18K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$1.1M to the Town of Denning for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan$5K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$147K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$162K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2002Snowstorms$17K to the Town of Denning for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$527K to the Town of Denning for repairs
Ulster County has had 28 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Old photos of Denning after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Denning archive →Denning 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive | Bless damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 26 |
| Rochester | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 34 |
| Neversink | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 22 |
| Wawarsing | C−more damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | 75 |
| Shandaken | Dmore damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 214 |
| Rockland | Dmore damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 499 |
| Hardenburgh | — | 153 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Denning 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.
- 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 Denning
Does Denning flood?
Flood insurance has paid 11 claims in Denning since 1980, $236K in all. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (7).
Is Denning 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 Ulster County, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Denning?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Denning’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 Denning?
By FEMA money that reached Denning, Severe Storms and Flooding (2005): $1.1M to the Town of Denning for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 7 paid, $126K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Denning.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Denning’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.