Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bloomfield Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Interstate Hosiery Mills, Inc. Mill BuildingInterstate Hosiery Mills, Inc. Mill Building · Photo: Desmond57 · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bloomfield Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Bloomfield Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bloomfield Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, #377 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 520 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 3%Earthquakes 3%

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

more than 80%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#377 of 468 in New Jersey
Hazard risk
C−#377 of 468
in New Jersey · higher than 80% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
520
paid since 1978 · $10.6M
Flooded more than once
36
properties · 4 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
25
of 24 declared for Essex County

What stands out about Bloomfield Township’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

520 paid flood claims since 1978$10.6M in all; 36 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 86% of U.S. towns.Remembers 2021164 flood claims were paid for 2021 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Bloomfield Township 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

92%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 8% of Bloomfield Township’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Bloomfield Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bloomfield Township, and Bloomfield Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bloomfield Township sits
Bloomfield Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #377 of 468 in New Jersey; higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Bloomfield Township’s residents live in 12 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Everything else8%

The typical New Jersey town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bloomfield Township has more expected damage per building than 81% of New Jersey towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $14.5M a year in losses across Bloomfield Township: $11.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021, FEMA took 1,594 aid registrations from Bloomfield Township addresses (the town has 21,789 homes).
A firm figure. It combines 12 census tracts by where Bloomfield Township’s residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Bloomfield Township flood? Yes: 520 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bloomfield Township, from FEMA’s records: 23.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 4 claims1979: 6 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 7 claims1982: 2 claims1983: 8 claims1984: 1 claim1985: 0 claims1986: 2 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 1 claim1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 2 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 2 claims1997: 3 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 122 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 1 claim2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 3 claims2007: 33 claims2008: 2 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 2 claims2011: 126 claims2012: 3 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 2 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 4 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 164 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 19 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199920112021
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Ida163 claims · $7.6M
  • Hurricane Irene121 claims · $1.2M
  • Hurricane Floyd117 claims · $991K
520
paid claims since 1978
$10.6M
paid to owners
36
homes flooded more than once
$20K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (4)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Bloomfield Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Essex County.
Disasters

25 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bloomfield Township

Disasters that paid out in Bloomfield Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bloomfield Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida1,594 households applied for aid$5.8M aid approved$1.4M to Bloomfield Township for repairs163 flood claims paid for it, $7.6M
  2. 2020Tropical Storm Isaias$192K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  3. 2020Tropical Storm Isaias$86K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  4. 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$20K to Bloomfield Township for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
  5. 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$124K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  6. 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$23K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
Show all 25
  1. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$36K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  2. 2012Hurricane Sandy$39K to Bloomfield Township for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $92K
  3. 2012Hurricane Sandy724 households applied for aid$52K aid approved$663K to Bloomfield Township for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $92K
  4. 2011Severe Storm$98K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  5. 2011Severe Storm$193K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  6. 2011Hurricane Irene462 households applied for aid$747K aid approved$130K to Bloomfield Township for repairs121 flood claims paid for it, $1.2M
  7. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$15K to Bloomfield Township for repairs121 flood claims paid for it, $1.2M
  8. 2011Snowstorm$21K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  9. 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$99K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  10. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding11 households applied for aid$7K aid approved$62K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  11. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$944 to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  12. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding171 households applied for aid$137K aid approved$94K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  13. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$11K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  14. 2006Snow$15K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  15. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$3K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  16. 2005Record Snow$14K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  17. 2003Snow$15K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  18. 2003Snow$12K to Bloomfield Township for repairs
  19. 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$75K to Bloomfield Township for repairs117 flood claims paid for it, $991K
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Bloomfield TownshipEssex County only

Essex County has had 24 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bloomfield Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bloomfield Township archive →
Next door

Bloomfield Township and its neighbors

Bloomfield Township is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Glen Ridge: hazard risk B+Nutley Township: hazard risk C−Brookdale: not gradedWatsessing: not gradedAmpere North: not gradedNewark: hazard risk B−Belleville Township: hazard risk C−East Orange: hazard risk A−Glen RidgeNutley TownshipBrookdaleWatsessingAmpere NorthNewarkBelleville TownshipEast OrangeBloomfield Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
East OrangeA−less damage than 76%river and rain flooding58
Glen RidgeB+less damage than 67%river and rain flooding22
NewarkB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding222
Bloomfield TownshipC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding520
Nutley TownshipC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding251
Belleville TownshipC−more damage than 84%river and rain flooding217
Brookdale—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town
Watsessing—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town
Ampere North—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Bloomfield Township faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Bloomfield Township

Is Bloomfield Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bloomfield Township has higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #377 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Bloomfield Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 520 claims in Bloomfield Township since 1978, $10.6M in all, or 23.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 36 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (163).

Is Bloomfield Township 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 Essex County, 50% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bloomfield Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bloomfield Township’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 Bloomfield Township?

By FEMA money that reached Bloomfield Township, Remnants of Hurricane Ida (2021): 1,594 households applied for aid, $5.8M approved, and $1.4M to Bloomfield Township for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 163 paid, $7.6M.

Is Bloomfield Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Bloomfield Township’s rate for it is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bloomfield Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bloomfield Township’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.