FEMA Records
32
Very high volume
New Jersey · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Bergen County, NJ
32 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 32
- FEMA declarations
- 20
- Major disasters
- 98
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Bergen County. Its 32 FEMA declarations are 8% above the New Jersey county mean and exceed the count for 89% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 2%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 2%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 32
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 14,466
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 34003 · Bergen County 32 declarations · rank 314/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 32
- MAJOR-MID 63%
- RANK-UPPER #314
- PHOTO-FINISH Perry
- NRI-HIGH 98
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +8%
Nearest declaration peer: Perry, MS (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · New Jersey state profile
Bergen County among high-volume declaration counties
FEMA declaration records among Bergen County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bergen · this county 32
Bergen · this county
32 declarations
- East Carroll · near 32
East Carroll · near
32 declarations
- Nicholas · near 32
Nicholas · near
32 declarations
- Perry · near 32
Perry · near
32 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Bergen County carries 32 FEMA declaration records, ranked 314 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Where Bergen County ranks in the national declaration registry
Bergen County vs. high-volume counties in this registry
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Bergen County
32 Top 11% higher than 89% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25
Bergen County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Bergen County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $216.8M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Low), while Coastal Flooding carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Bergen County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 14,466 claims and $432.3M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $29.9K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Bergen County's 32 federal records stand 8% above the New Jersey county mean of 29.7. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 97.8/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $321.8M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Coastal Flooding stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 3.8 times per year here.
72 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Bergen County, NJ · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
23/30
32 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
32 declarations (1.1x state county average of 30)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
20 of 32 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Bergen County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Bergen County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
98
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Bergen County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | an average of 3.8 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 5.9 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Very High | an average of 12 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Very High | an average of 5.3 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively High | 9.1 modeled event-days per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 32 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 489 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 8 years |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 13 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 7 years |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 2 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 27,553 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 2.2 times per year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 10
Severe Storm 6
Flood 5
Snowstorm 4
Biological 2
Other 2
Drought 2
Fire 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Bergen County's federal record, 31% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 20 62.5%
of all 32 declarations
Emergency - 12 37.5%
of all 32 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 2 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2003 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 2 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 1 | |
| 1975 | 1 | |
| 1971 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 32 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 32 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4614 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-09-05 |
| 3573 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM | Hurricane | 2021-09-02 |
| 4574 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR | Hurricane | 2020-12-11 |
| 4488 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-25 |
| 3451 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4368 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2018-06-08 |
| 4264 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-03-14 |
| 4086 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3354 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4048 | SEVERE STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-11-30 |
| 4021 | HURRICANE IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-08-31 |
| 3332 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-27 |
| 1954 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-02-04 |
| 1897 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2010-04-02 |
| 1694 | SEVERE STORMS AND INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-04-26 |
| 3257 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-19 |
| 1588 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-04-19 |
| 3188 | POWER OUTAGE | EM | Other | 2003-09-23 |
| 3181 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-20 |
| 3169 | FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS | EM | Fire | 2001-09-19 |
Show 12 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3156 | WEST NILE VIRUS | EM | Other | 2000-11-01 |
| 1295 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-18 |
| 3148 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-17 |
| 1088 | BLIZZARD OF 96 (SEVERE SNOW STORM) | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-13 |
| 3106 | SEVERE BLIZZARD | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-17 |
| 973 | COASTAL STORM, HIGH TIDES, HEAVY RAIN, & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1992-12-18 |
| 701 | COASTAL STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-04-12 |
| 3083 | WATER SHORTAGE | EM | Drought | 1980-10-19 |
| 477 | HEAVY RAINS, HIGH WINDS, HAIL & TORNADOES | DR | Flood | 1975-07-23 |
| 310 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1971-09-04 |
| 245 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1968-06-18 |
| 205 | WATER SHORTAGE | DR | Drought | 1965-08-18 |
Storm Events in New Jersey
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Bergen County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,853 | 6 | 27 | $33.9M |
| Winter Weather | 1,141 | 8 | 114 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 955 | 32 | 7 | $226.8M |
| Coastal Flood | 380 | 0 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Winter Storm | 361 | 11 | 8 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
14,466
Total Paid
$432.3M
Avg Per Claim
$29.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 97.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$321.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Coastal Flooding Very High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Winter Weather Very High
Strong Wind Very High
Heat Wave Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Ice Storm Relatively Moderate
Landslide Very Low
Drought Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hail Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Coastal Flooding
Coastal Flooding is modeled separately from riverine flooding because its driver is different: surge, tide and wave action rather than a watershed draining. It is also the hazard whose baseline is moving, since the same storm rides on a higher starting sea level than it used to.
For Bergen County the two measures on this page point the same way: Coastal Flooding is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very High), and Hurricane declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Bergen County's closest FEMA peer: Trinity County, CA
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Bergen County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Bergen County shows 32 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Bergen County: 20 of 32 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Bergen County: NRI composite 97.8 (Relatively High).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Bergen County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Bergen County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar NRI composite
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 97.8 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 32. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Bergen County's NFIP claims file (14,466 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Bergen County?
The most common disaster type in Bergen County is Hurricane, with 10 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (6), Flood (5), Snowstorm (4).
How does Bergen County's FEMA declaration record compare with the New Jersey average?
FEMA lists 32 declaration records for Bergen County. That is 8% above the New Jersey county mean of 29.7. Its count is also 54% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Bergen County received?
Bergen County has received 20 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 32 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Bergen County filed?
Bergen County has 14,466 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $432.3M in payments, with an average of $29.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Bergen County?
No. In Bergen County, Coastal Flooding has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $216.8M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Bergen County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Bergen County was 2011, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2021.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Bergen County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Bergen County, New Jersey has an overall risk score of 97.8 out of 100 (Relatively High). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Low and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $321.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Bergen County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Bergen County as of the latest release is Coastal Flooding (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Riverine Flooding (Relatively High) and Winter Weather (Very High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts coastal flooding here at an average of 3.8 times per year. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against exposed assets and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Bergen County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · New Jersey profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events