Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0For coastal flooding, Hempstead’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hempstead gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #409 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%), then coastal flooding (12%). Flood insurance has paid 19,033 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Hempstead’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Hempstead 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
Coastal 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.
What’s behind Hempstead’s grade
River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hempstead, and Hempstead’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 12%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #409 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Hempstead’s residents live in 150 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Hempstead has more expected damage per building than 54% of New York towns.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Hempstead has lower expected damage per building than 77% (#94 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $176M, is the 52th largest of those 400.
Does Hempstead flood? Yes: 19,033 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hempstead, from FEMA’s records: 72.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Sandy11,974 claims · $878M
- Hurricane Irene2,051 claims · $46.9M
- The December Storm - nor’easter833 claims · $9.5M
Hempstead isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nassau County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hempstead
Disasters that paid out in Hempstead itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Hempstead), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$271K to the Town of Hempstead for repairs368 flood claims paid that year
- 2020Tropical Storm Isaias$4.3M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs8 flood claims paid that year
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$37.4M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs11,974 flood claims paid for it, $878M
- 2011Hurricane Irene$2.6M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs2,051 flood claims paid for it, $46.9M
- 2011Hurricane Irene$54K to the Town of Hempstead for repairs2,051 flood claims paid for it, $46.9M
- 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$1.4M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs
Show all 10
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$1.1M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding Assoc W Td Ida and Nor’easter$592K to the Town of Hempstead for repairs11 flood claims paid that year
- 2003Snow$1.4M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs12 flood claims paid that year
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$113K to the Town of Hempstead for repairs18 flood claims paid that year
Nassau County has had 22 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 Hempstead after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hempstead archive →Hempstead and its neighbors
Hempstead is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Hempstead | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 189 |
| Oyster Bay | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 4,654 |
| New York | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 36,272 |
| Hempstead | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 19,033 |
| Levittown | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Massapequa | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Bethpage | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Seaford | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| North Massapequa | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Inwood | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Hicksville | — | 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 Hempstead 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Hempstead
Is Hempstead at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hempstead has lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #409 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and coastal flooding (12%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Hempstead flood?
Flood insurance has paid 19,033 claims in Hempstead since 1978, $979M in all, or 72.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 95% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2,648 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (11,974).
Is Hempstead 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 Nassau County, 76% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 9.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hempstead?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hempstead’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 Hempstead?
By FEMA money that reached Hempstead, Hurricane Sandy (2012): $37.4M to the Town of Hempstead for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 11,974 paid, $878M.
Is Hempstead at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Hempstead’s rate for it is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hempstead.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hempstead’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.