Photo: Ww2censor · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Alpine faces less hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alpine gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then hurricanes (13%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Alpine 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.
What’s behind Alpine’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Alpine, and Alpine’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 91% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 3%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
A+ lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Alpine’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $587K a year in losses across Alpine: $526K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Alpine flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Alpine. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Alpine isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bergen County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alpine
Disasters that paid out in Alpine itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Alpine), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida22 households applied for aid$57K aid approved$77K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
- 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$18K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy17 households applied for aid$15K aid approved$84K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm$37K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene2 households applied for aid$13K aid approved$10K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$14K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
Show all 9
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$64K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$11K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs
Bergen County has had 23 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.
Old photos of Alpine after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Alpine archive →Alpine and its neighbors
Alpine has the lowest expected damage per building of the 9 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Greenburgh | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 402 |
| Norwood | A−less damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Tenafly | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 47 |
| Yonkers | B+less damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 690 |
| Closter | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 38 |
| Hastings-on-Hudson | B+less damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 26 |
| Cresskill | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 74 |
| Demarest | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 25 |
| Rockleigh | — | 459 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Alpine 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 Alpine
Is Alpine at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alpine has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and hurricanes (13%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Alpine 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 Bergen County, 41% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Alpine?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Alpine’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 Alpine?
By FEMA money that reached Alpine, Remnants of Hurricane Ida (2021): 22 households applied for aid, $57K approved, and $77K to the Borough of Alpine for repairs.
Is Alpine at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Alpine’s rate for it is lower than 91% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alpine.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Alpine’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.