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Lopatcong from Marble MountainPhoto: Nap173 · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lopatcong Township · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Lopatcong Township than in 81% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lopatcong Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns, #384 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 2004.

River and rain flooding 89%Hurricanes 4%Strong wind 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 81%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#384 of 468 in New Jersey
Hazard risk
C−#384 of 468
in New Jersey · higher than 81% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
12
paid since 2004 · $840K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Disasters paid out here
7
of 19 declared for Warren County
By hazard

What Lopatcong 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

89%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Earthquakes Tornadoes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 14% of Lopatcong Township’s expected losses. Cold 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 Lopatcong Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lopatcong Township, and Lopatcong Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Lopatcong Township sits
Lopatcong Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #384 of 468 in New Jersey; higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Lopatcong Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Hurricanes4%Strong wind3%Everything else4%

The typical New Jersey town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lopatcong Township has more expected damage per building than 82% of New Jersey towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.6M a year in losses across Lopatcong Township: $3.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Lopatcong Township’s 8,776 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Delaware Park CDP (739 residents) and Lopatcong Overlook CDP (692 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Lopatcong Township flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 2004

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lopatcong Township, from FEMA’s records: 2.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2004: 4 claims2005: 5 claims2006: 3 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420052006
20042026
Biggest named events
  • The Torrential rain1 claim · $36K
12
paid claims since 2004
$840K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$70K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Lopatcong 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: Warren County.
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lopatcong Township

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$443K to Lopatcong Township for repairs
  2. 2021Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$50K to Lopatcong Township for repairs
  3. 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$34K to Lopatcong Township for repairs
  4. 2012Hurricane Sandy$41K to Lopatcong Township for repairs
  5. 2011Severe Storm$41K to Lopatcong Township for repairs
  6. 2011Hurricane Irene$25K to Lopatcong Township for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$27K to Lopatcong Township for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lopatcong TownshipWarren County only

Warren County has had 19 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 Lopatcong Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Lopatcong Township archive →
Next door

Lopatcong Township and its neighbors

Lopatcong Township is 6th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Phillipsburg: hazard risk DGreenwich Township: hazard risk CHarmony Township: hazard risk CChestnut Hill: not gradedForks Township: hazard risk C+Easton: hazard risk CUpper Stewartsville: not gradedPohatcong Township: hazard risk C−PhillipsburgGreenwich TownshipHarmony TownshipChestnut HillForks TownshipEastonUpper StewartsvillePohatcong TownshipLopatcong Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Forks TownshipC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding162
Greenwich TownshipCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding25
EastonCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding233
Harmony TownshipCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding321
Pohatcong TownshipC−more damage than 77%river and rain flooding147
Lopatcong TownshipC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding12
PhillipsburgDmore damage than 90%river and rain flooding59
Chestnut Hill—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town
Upper Stewartsville—128 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Lopatcong 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 Lopatcong Township

Is Lopatcong Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lopatcong Township has higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #384 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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.

Does Lopatcong Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Lopatcong Township since 2004, $840K in all, or 2.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Torrential rain (1).

Is Lopatcong 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 Warren County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lopatcong Township?

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

By FEMA money that reached Lopatcong Township, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): $443K to Lopatcong Township for repairs. By flood claims, Torrential rain: 1 paid, $36K.

Is Lopatcong Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Lopatcong Township’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lopatcong Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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