Packanack Lake’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Packanack Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1978.
What stands out about Packanack Lake’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Packanack Lake?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 364 of the 564 New Jersey towns we cover.
Packanack Lake covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Packanack Lake faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Does Packanack Lake flood? Sometimes: 26 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Packanack Lake, from FEMA’s records.
- The Not a named storm4 claims · $4K
- Hurricane Irene3 claims · $130K
- Hurricane Floyd2 claims · $48K
Packanack Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Passaic County.Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Passaic County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Packanack Lake itself in FEMA’s records.
Passaic County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Get ready for what Packanack Lake 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.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Passaic County’s 22 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 Packanack Lake’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Packanack Lake.
- 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 Packanack Lake, expected losses total about $2.3M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Packanack Lake.
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.