Photo: LCM247 · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Pearl River
Pearl River isn’t graded for hazard risk: Pearl River is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 87 claims here since 1978.
What Pearl River 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 Pearl River flood? Sometimes: 87 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pearl River, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene8 claims · $336K
- Hurricane Floyd5 claims · $107K
Pearl River 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 Pearl River remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Rockland County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pearl River itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 197932 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 201110 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Irene, declared for Rockland County
- 19809 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
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 Pearl River after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pearl River archive →Pearl River 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chestnut Ridge | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Clarkstown | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 724 |
| Orangetown | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 292 |
| Ramapo | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 335 |
| Blauvelt | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Tappan | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Nanuet | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| West Nyack | — | 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 Pearl River 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Pearl River
Does Pearl River flood?
Flood insurance has paid 87 claims in Pearl River since 1978, $1.1M in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (8).
Is Pearl River 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 Pearl River?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pearl River’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 Pearl River?
By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 8 paid, $336K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pearl River.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pearl River’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.