Brookdale is calmer than 77% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brookdale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 49 claims here since 1979.
What stands out about Brookdale’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Brookdale?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 482 of the 564 New Jersey towns we cover.
Brookdale covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.
The storms Brookdale remembers
None of the disasters declared for Essex County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Brookdale itself in FEMA’s records.
- 202117 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
- 201112 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
Essex County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Old photos of Brookdale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brookdale archive →Brookdale and its neighbors
Brookdale has the lowest rating of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nutley | High | inland flooding | 251 |
| Bloomfield | High | inland flooding | 520 |
| Glen Ridge | Low | inland flooding | 22 |
| Brookdale | Low | inland flooding | 49 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
What Brookdale faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Heat waves
Cold waves
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Does Brookdale flood? Sometimes: 49 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brookdale, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida17 claims · $739K
- Hurricane Irene12 claims · $496K
- Hurricane Floyd5 claims · $120K
Brookdale 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.Get ready for what Brookdale actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, 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.
- Know the nearest cooling center or air-conditioned library.
- Drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Check on neighbors who live alone.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- 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.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Essex County’s 25 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
- Compared by rate. “Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Brookdale’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Brookdale.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Brookdale, expected losses total about $1.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brookdale.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.