Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Hillcrest
Hillcrest isn’t graded for hazard risk: Hillcrest is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2021.
What Hillcrest 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
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 Hillcrest flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2021
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hillcrest, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida2 claims · $78K
Hillcrest isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rockland County.The storms Hillcrest remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Rockland County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hillcrest itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20212 flood claims paidThe year of Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared for Rockland County
Rockland County has had 21 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 Hillcrest after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hillcrest archive →Hillcrest 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hempstead | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Clarkstown | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 724 |
| New Square | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Ramapo | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 335 |
| Spring Valley | B+less damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 216 |
| New City | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Nanuet | — | 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 Hillcrest 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.
- 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 Hillcrest
Does Hillcrest flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Hillcrest since 2021, $78K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (2).
Is Hillcrest 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 Rockland County, 50% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hillcrest?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hillcrest’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 Hillcrest?
By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 2 paid, $78K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hillcrest.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hillcrest’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.