Essex, NJ
Essex County in New Jersey has 16 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1968–2021, most recently Remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sep 5, 2021 (DR-4614). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #55 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 207 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $9,530,407 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Essex County
The 16 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Essex County, NJ (1968–2021). Total declarations on record: 16.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 2021 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida | DR-4614 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida | DR-3573 |
| Dec 11, 2020 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Isaias | DR-4574 |
| Oct 30, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-4086 |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-3354 |
| Aug 31, 2011 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | DR-4021 |
| Aug 27, 2011 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene | DR-3332 |
| Sep 19, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3257 |
| Sep 18, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | DR-1295 |
| Sep 17, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations | DR-3148 |
| Dec 18, 1992 | Flood | Coastal Storm, High Tides, Heavy Rain, & Flooding | DR-973 |
| Apr 12, 1984 | Flood | Coastal Storms & Flooding | DR-701 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | Flood | Heavy Rains, High Winds, Hail & Tornadoes | DR-477 |
| Aug 7, 1973 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-402 |
| Sep 4, 1971 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-310 |
| Jun 18, 1968 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-245 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 25 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in New Jersey
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen | B | 24 | 374 | 15 |
| Somerset | B | 24 | 180 | 14 |
| Middlesex | B | 23 | 155 | 14 |
| Morris | B | 23 | 80 | 14 |
| Passaic | B | 23 | 166 | 13 |
| Salem | B | 22 | 14 | 12 |
More Counties in New Jersey
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Essex County, NJ have?
Essex County, NJ has 16 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1968–2021). The 5 most recent are: Remnants of Hurricane Ida (declared Sep 5, 2021, DR-4614); Remnants of Hurricane Ida (declared Sep 2, 2021, DR-3573); Tropical Storm Isaias (declared Dec 11, 2020, DR-4574); Hurricane Sandy (declared Oct 30, 2012, DR-4086); Hurricane Sandy (declared Oct 28, 2012, DR-3354). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Essex County, NJ?
Essex County is graded B (composite score 25/100, moderate risk). It ranks #55 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Essex County?
207 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Essex County, NJ, totaling $9,530,407 in payouts. The average claim is $46,041. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Essex County, NJ had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Essex County was Remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sep 5, 2021 (DR-4614). The county has 16 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1968–2021.
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations dataset. The detail above comes directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.