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New Jersey · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index

Morris County, NJ

4 FEMA disaster declarations (2021–2021), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.

4
FEMA declarations
3
Major disasters
93
NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
Hurricane
Top hazard

FEMA's National Risk Index places Morris County in the top 7% of U.S. counties for overall natural-hazard risk, and its FEMA disaster-declaration count is higher than 59% of all 2,729 counties tracked.

How does Morris County compare?

FEMA disaster declarations, this county versus the New Jersey county average and the national county average.

Morris County
4
New Jersey county avg
2.9
National county avg
3.7

How disaster-prone is Morris County?

Morris County, New Jersey has recorded 4 FEMA disaster declarations between 2021 and 2021, of which 3 were classified as Major Disaster declarations (DR) requiring federal individual and public assistance. That puts the county's average at - declarations per year, or roughly 40% above the New Jersey county average of 2.9 and 7% above the national county average of 3.7. Declaration counts reflect federal recognition of event severity, not pure hazard frequency, smaller incidents handled locally never appear in FEMA's ledger.

The dominant disaster type on record is Hurricane, with 3 of 4 declarations falling under this category. FEMA's National Risk Index assigns this county an overall risk rating of Relatively Moderate (composite score 92.9/100), driven by an Expected Annual Loss rating of Relatively High equivalent to roughly $208.1M in annualized losses. Social vulnerability scores Very Low and community resilience scores Very High - two factors that modify raw hazard exposure into actual harm. The single highest-risk natural hazard identified for this county is Strong Wind (Relatively High).

NFIP flood insurance claims data for this county is not present in the FEMA claims extract, which typically indicates either low historical flood activity or low policy penetration. Taken together, these indicators place Morris County at a low relative risk level for federally recognized disasters. Households should pair this historical lens with forward-looking hazard maps, flood zones, wildfire risk overlays, and seismic zones published by FEMA and state emergency management, before making preparedness, insurance, or relocation decisions.

Risk Assessment

How Morris County's disaster history compares to state and national averages.

Risk Level

Low

vs. New Jersey Avg

+40%

State avg: 2.9

vs. National Avg

+7%

National avg: 3.7

Avg Per Year

-

-

FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Morris County

Morris County NRI risk profile 8-axis FEMA National Risk Index radar showing per-hazard composite scores for Earthquake 25, Flood 0, Hurricane 48, Tornado 48, Wildfire 8, Drought 48, Heat Wave 48, Winter Storm 92. Overall composite 40 of 100, classified Moderate. Earthquake Flood Hurricane Tornado Wildfire Drought Heat Wave Winter Storm 40 composite
Morris County NRI risk profile FIPS 34027 · composite 40/100 (Moderate)

The radar plots Morris County's relative exposure to the eight headline natural hazards used by the FEMA National Risk Index. Each axis is the qualitative NRI risk rating (Very Low through Very High) re-expressed on a 0-100 scale so that the polygon shape lets you compare a county against another at a glance.

FEMA Records

4

Total declarations

NRI Source

FEMA 2023

Latest NRI release

County FIPS

34027

NJ state code

Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, 2023 release

Disaster Types

Breakdown of 4 FEMA disaster declarations in Morris County by incident type.

Hurricane 3
Snowstorm 1

Declaration Types

FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).

Major Disaster - 3 75.0%

of all 4 declarations

Emergency - 1 25.0%

of all 4 declarations

FEMA Declarations Timeline

Disaster declarations per year for Morris County.

Year Declarations
2021 4

Disaster Declarations

All 4 FEMA disaster declarations for Morris County, New Jersey.

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
4597 SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM DR Snowstorm 2021-04-28
4574 TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS DR Hurricane 2020-12-11

Storm Events in New Jersey

NOAA severe weather data for New Jersey (2015–2025). Storm event data is tracked at the state level.

Storm Type Events Fatalities Injuries Property Damage
Thunderstorm Wind 3,061 8 31 $34.1M
Winter Weather 1,289 8 114 $0
Flash Flood 1,033 34 7 $227.1M
Coastal Flood 403 0 0 $2.0M
Winter Storm 390 11 8 $0

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015–2025

FEMA National Risk Index

FEMA's composite risk score combining 18 natural hazard types, social vulnerability, and community resilience for Morris County.

Overall Risk

Relatively Moderate

Score: 92.9/100

Expected Annual Loss

Relatively High

$208.1M/year

Social Vulnerability

Very Low

Community Resilience

Very High

Hazard Risk Breakdown

Risk rating for each of the 18 FEMA NRI natural hazard types in Morris County.

Strong Wind Relatively High
Winter Weather Very High
Cold Wave Relatively High
Lightning Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Hurricane Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Moderate
Landslide Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Hail Very Low
Avalanche Very Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri

Counties with Similar Risk in New Jersey

Other New Jersey counties with similar disaster declaration counts.

Disaster Preparedness Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many natural disasters has Morris County, New Jersey had?
Morris County, New Jersey has received 4 FEMA disaster declarations from 2021 to 2021. Of these, 3 were major disaster declarations.
What is the most common disaster type in Morris County?
The most common disaster type in Morris County is Hurricane, with 3 declarations. Other disaster types include Snowstorm (1).
How does Morris County's disaster risk compare to the New Jersey average?
Morris County has 4 disaster declarations, which is 40% higher than the New Jersey county average of 2.9 declarations. Compared to the national county average of 3.7, it is 7% higher.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Morris County received?
Morris County has received 3 major disaster declarations, representing 75% of all 4 disaster declarations. Major disaster declarations typically involve significant damage requiring federal assistance.
What types of storms are most common in New Jersey?
The most common storm types in New Jersey include Thunderstorm Wind (3,061 events), Winter Weather (1,289 events), Flash Flood (1,033 events). NOAA storm event data covers severe weather from 2015 to 2025.
What is the overall disaster risk level for Morris County?
Based on FEMA declaration history, Morris County has a low disaster risk level with 4 total declarations. This county has relatively few disaster declarations compared to the national average.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Morris County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Morris County, New Jersey has an overall risk score of 92.9 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very Low and community resilience is Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $208.1M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Morris County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Morris County is Strong Wind (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Very High) and Cold Wave (Relatively High). These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, 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.

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.

What this means for Morris County

Morris County, NJ has 4 FEMA disaster declarations on record, a low historical disaster load, 40% above the New Jersey county average.

  • Its most common federal declaration type is major disaster (3 of 4) - know the hazards most likely here before they happen. New Jersey overview
  • See how this county ranks against the rest of the country for disaster frequency. Most-disaster rankings
  • Read how to read FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and what they do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide

Historical declaration counts describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

All federal data sources used on this page
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial

Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →

Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FEMA federal disaster data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.