Photo: Dougtone (Doug Kerr) on Flickr.com · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Green Island
Green Island isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Green Island yet. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1986.
What Green Island 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 Green Island flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1986
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Green Island, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene2 claims · $29K
Green Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Albany County.The storms Green Island remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Albany County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Green Island itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20112 flood claims paidThe year of Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Albany County
- 19861 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20091 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Albany County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter 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 Green Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Green Island archive →Green Island 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colonie | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 89 |
| Watervliet | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Cohoes | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
| Green Island | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Troy | C−more damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 129 |
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 Green Island 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 Green Island
Does Green Island flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Green Island since 1986, $30K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (2).
Is Green Island 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 Albany County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Green Island?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Green Island’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 Green Island?
By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 2 paid, $29K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Green Island.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Green Island’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.