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LEWIS CAREY FARMHOUSE, MORRIS COUNTYPhoto: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Mount Olive Township · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Mount Olive Township than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Olive Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns, #101 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 53 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 89%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 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

less than 69%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#101 of 468 in New Jersey
Hazard risk
B+#101 of 468
in New Jersey · lower than 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
53
paid since 1979 · $752K
Flooded more than once
4
properties
Disasters paid out here
10
of 25 declared for Morris County

What stands out about Mount Olive Township’s natural hazards

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

Lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 201123 flood claims were paid for 2011 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Mount Olive 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
About average · higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Hail Lightning Wildfire Ice storms 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 11% of Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mount Olive Township, and Mount Olive Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mount Olive Township sits
Mount Olive Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #101 of 468 in New Jersey; lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Mount Olive Township’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Hurricanes4%Tornadoes3%Everything else4%

The typical New Jersey town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Mount Olive Township has less expected damage per building than 79% of New Jersey towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $7.8M a year in losses across Mount Olive Township: $5.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Mount Olive Township covers 6 census tracts, combined by where 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 Mount Olive Township flood? Sometimes: 53 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mount Olive Township, from FEMA’s records: 4.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 58% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 6 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 3 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 3 claims1985: 1 claim1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 5 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 3 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 2 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 23 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 2 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 2 claims2025: 1 claim2026: 0 claims197919962011
19792026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene17 claims · $357K
  • Hurricane Floyd3 claims · $24K
53
paid claims since 1979
$752K
paid to owners
4
homes flooded more than once
$14K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mount Olive 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: Morris County.
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mount Olive Township

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

  1. 2021Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$181K to Mount Olive Township for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2020Tropical Storm Isaias$112K to Mount Olive Township for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $2K
  3. 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$98K to Mount Olive Township for repairs
  4. 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$71K to Mount Olive Township for repairs
  5. 2012Hurricane Sandy$222K to Mount Olive Township for repairs
  6. 2011Severe Storm$73K to Mount Olive Township for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2011Hurricane Irene$40K to Mount Olive Township for repairs17 flood claims paid for it, $357K
  2. 2010Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$75K to Mount Olive Township for repairs
  3. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding and Mudslides$2K to Mount Olive Township for repairs
  4. 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$21K to Mount Olive Township for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $24K
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Mount Olive TownshipMorris County only

Morris County has had 25 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 Mount Olive Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Mount Olive Township archive →
Next door

Mount Olive Township and its neighbors

Mount Olive Township is 5th of the 8 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Byram Township: hazard risk C+Hackettstown: hazard risk C+Allamuchy Township: hazard risk B+Washington Township: hazard risk A−Stanhope: hazard risk A−Byram Center: not gradedNetcong: hazard risk AFlanders: not gradedRoxbury Township: hazard risk A−Succasunna: not gradedByram TownshipHackettstownAllamuchy TownshipWashington TownshipStanhopeByram CenterNetcongFlandersRoxbury TownshipSuccasunnaMount Olive Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
NetcongAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding3
StanhopeA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding2
Roxbury TownshipA−less damage than 79%river and rain flooding20
Washington TownshipA−less damage than 76%river and rain flooding90
Mount Olive TownshipB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding53
Allamuchy TownshipB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding1
HackettstownC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding22
Byram TownshipC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding10
Byram Center—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town
Flanders—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town
Succasunna—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 Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive Township

Is Mount Olive Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Olive Township has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #101 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Mount Olive Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 53 claims in Mount Olive Township since 1979, $752K in all, or 4.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 58% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (17).

Is Mount Olive 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 Morris County, 1.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Mount Olive Township?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mount Olive Township, Hurricane Sandy (2012): $222K to Mount Olive Township for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 17 paid, $357K.

Is Mount Olive Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Mount Olive Township’s rate for it is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mount Olive Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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