Photo: Copperhead7 · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Harrison
Harrison isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Harrison yet. Flood insurance has paid 758 claims here since 1978.
What Harrison 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
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.
Does Harrison flood? Yes: 758 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Harrison, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida152 claims · $7.7M
- The April 2007 nor’easter82 claims · $1.6M
Harrison is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Westchester County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Harrison
Disasters that paid out in Harrison itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Harrison), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida495 households applied for aid$1.8M aid approved152 flood claims paid for it, $7.7M
- 2012Hurricane Sandy49 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2011Hurricane Irene35 households applied for aid$89K aid approved56 flood claims paid for it, $1.2M
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding186 households applied for aid$415K aid approved101 flood claims paid that year
Westchester County has had 23 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 Harrison after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Harrison archive →Harrison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Plains | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 127 |
| Scarsdale | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 403 |
| Harrison | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 777 |
| North Castle | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 43 |
| Rye Brook | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 250 |
| Mamaroneck | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 524 |
| Rye | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 1,566 |
| Mamaroneck | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 1,767 |
| Rye | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 786 |
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 Harrison 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.
- 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.
- Harrison residents get 15% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Harrison
Does Harrison flood?
Flood insurance has paid 758 claims in Harrison since 1978, $13.0M in all. 81 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (152).
Is Harrison 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 Westchester County, 64% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Harrison?
Harrison is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7), which takes 15% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Harrison?
By FEMA money that reached Harrison, Remnants of Hurricane Ida (2021): 495 households applied for aid, $1.8M approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 152 paid, $7.7M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Harrison.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Harrison’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.