Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Newark
Newark isn’t graded for hazard risk: Newark has 727 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Newark 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
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.
Does Newark flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Newark. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Newark isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Caledonia County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Newark
Disasters that paid out in Newark itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Newark), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$228K to the Town of Newark for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$27K to the Town of Newark for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$100K to the Town of Newark for repairs
- 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$111K to the Town of Newark for repairs
Caledonia County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Old photos of Newark after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Newark archive →Newark and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Brighton | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Westmore | — | 465 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| East Haven | — | 225 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Sutton | — | 790 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 Newark 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.
- 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 Newark
Is Newark 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 Caledonia County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Newark?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Newark’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 Newark?
By FEMA money that reached Newark, Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2024): 1 households applied for aid, $3K approved, and $228K to the Town of Newark for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Newark.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Newark’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.