Pompton Plains’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pompton Plains comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2,102 claims here since 1978.
What stands out about Pompton Plains’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Pompton Plains flood? Yes: 2,102 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pompton Plains, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene631 claims · $38.6M
- The March 2010 nor’easter322 claims · $10.3M
- The Late winter storms208 claims · $4.4M
Pompton Plains 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.The storms Pompton Plains remembers
None of the disasters declared for Morris County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pompton Plains itself in FEMA’s records.
- 2011859 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
- 2010323 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
- 1984314 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
Morris County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Pompton Plains after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pompton Plains archive →How exposed is Pompton Plains?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 480 of the 564 New Jersey towns we cover.
Pompton Plains covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.
What Pompton Plains faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Get ready for what Pompton Plains 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- 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.
- 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.
Pompton Plains and its neighbors
Pompton Plains ranks 3rd calmest of 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pompton Lakes | Very high | inland flooding | 2,301 |
| Lincoln Park | Very high | inland flooding | 2,935 |
| Riverdale | Very high | inland flooding | 102 |
| Pompton Plains | High | inland flooding | 2,102 |
| Pequannock | High | inland flooding | 2,037 |
| Wayne | Moderate | inland flooding | 5,568 |
| Kinnelon | Moderate | inland flooding | 2 |
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.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Morris County’s 26 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 Pompton Plains’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Pompton Plains.
- 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 Pompton Plains, expected losses total about $9.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pompton Plains.
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.