Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Woodbury
Woodbury isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Woodbury yet. Flood insurance has paid 51 claims here since 1979.
What Woodbury 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 Woodbury flood? Sometimes: 51 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Woodbury, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene14 claims · $361K
- The December nor’easter3 claims · $57K
Woodbury isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Orange County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Woodbury
Disasters that paid out in Woodbury itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Woodbury), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$2.7M to the Town of Woodbury for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$175K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $27K
- 2011Hurricane Irene$259K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs14 flood claims paid for it, $361K
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$71K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$369K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$114K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs
Show all 10
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$30K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs
- 2003Snow$39K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs
- 2002Snowstorms$33K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$77K to the Town of Woodbury for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $20K
Orange County has had 25 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Orange County, 1999–2024.
Old photos of Woodbury after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Woodbury archive →Woodbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 59 |
| Monroe | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 52 |
| South Blooming Grove | B+less damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Blooming Grove | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 135 |
| Cornwall | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 29 |
| Tuxedo | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 30 |
| Tuxedo | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 29 |
| Highlands | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Mountain Lodge Park | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| West Point | — | 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 Woodbury 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 Woodbury
Does Woodbury flood?
Flood insurance has paid 51 claims in Woodbury since 1979, $727K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (14).
Is Woodbury 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 Orange County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Woodbury?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Woodbury’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 Woodbury?
By FEMA money that reached Woodbury, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $2.7M to the Town of Woodbury for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 14 paid, $361K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Woodbury.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Woodbury’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.