14,477 flood insurance claims·$431.1M paid·10 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Bergen County, New Jersey. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Bergen County, New Jersey, accounting for 269 events and 3 deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 107 general floods, 3 tropical storms, and 1 coastal flood resulting in 1 death. Recent severe events illustrate this risk, such as the July 2025 flash floods driven by a weak front and precipitable water of 2 inches that brought 4 to 6.5 inches of total rainfall with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Similarly, slow-moving thunderstorms along a frontal system caused widespread flash flooding on August 18, 2024, dropping 2 to 4 inches of total rain with hourly rates between 1 and 3 inches.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that high-risk areas bear the brunt of these impacts. Zone A properties experienced the highest volume of claims by a wide margin with 11,660 claims averaging a $37,340 payout and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in Zone X also face significant vulnerability, generating 1,700 claims with an average payout of $30,991 and an average water depth of 12 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks, as they represent the highest concentration of historical claims and structural water depths in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Bergen County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
12,299 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 11 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2011, with 3,686 claims and $104.9M paid, the year of Hurricane Irene and Severe Storm.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
157 NOAA storm reports from Bergen County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Jersey flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 6, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storm | Oct 29, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 26, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
380 since 1996: 269 flash floods, 107 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A weak front approached from the west along with PW of 2 inches resulting in heavy rainfall across the area. 4 to 6.5 inches of rainfall totals were reported with rainfall rates between 1 to 2 inches.
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2024. A frontal system over the area on August 18th produced heavy thunderstorms that were fairly slow moving over northeast New Jersey. A cold front moving in from the west late in the afternoon produced heavy thunderstorms with an environmental MUCAPE of 2000-3000 J/kg and PWAT values of 1.7-1.8 inches. These slow moving thunderstorms produce rainfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour over New Jersey with total rainfall am…
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2024. An approaching cold front and trough produced thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening on July 17th that resulted in localized flash flooding in northern New Jersey. MUCAPE values of 1000-2000 J/kg and PWATs of 2-2.2 inches allowed the thunderstorms to produce heavy rainfall rates of 1-2 per hour. The thunderstorms produced rainfall totals of 1 to 2.5 inches.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2024. Several rounds of heavy thunderstorms developed over the area on the afternoon of August 6th. A slow moving frontal system stalled out over the area. PWATs of 2-2.2 inches and a sharp gradient of MUCAPE peaking out over the area near 2500 J/kg allowed for the development of strong thunderstorms producing torrential rainfall with rates upwards of 1.5-2.5 inches per hour. Total rainfall was 1-3 inches with localized…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Bergen County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.