Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Dering Harbor
Dering Harbor isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Dering Harbor yet.
What Dering Harbor 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
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 Dering Harbor flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dering Harbor. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dering Harbor isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Suffolk County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dering Harbor
Disasters that paid out in Dering Harbor itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Dering Harbor), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$4K to the Village of Dering Harbor for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$95K to the Village of Dering Harbor for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$100K to the Village of Dering Harbor for repairs
Suffolk County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical 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 Dering Harbor after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dering Harbor archive →Dering Harbor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelter Island Heights | — | 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 Dering Harbor 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.
- 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 Dering Harbor
Is Dering Harbor 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 Suffolk County, 66% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dering Harbor?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dering Harbor’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 Dering Harbor?
By FEMA money that reached Dering Harbor, Severe Storms and Flooding (2010): $100K to the Village of Dering Harbor for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dering Harbor.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dering Harbor’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.