Natural hazards · Walpack

Walpack, NJ natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Walpack comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1996. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Walpack?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Walpack to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding69%Cold waves15%Strong wind9%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Walpack faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Walpack flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Walpack, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 1996

$7Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Walpack isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Sussex County.

Disasters that hit Walpack

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Walpack itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of Walpack.

Brought FEMA money into WalpackDeclared for Sussex County only

2012

Hurricane Sandy

1 household applied for aid

Sussex County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

Around Walpack

Walpack and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Walpackmostly inland floodingHigh

Sandystonmostly inland floodingHigh

Stillwatermostly inland floodingModerate

Lehmanmostly inland floodingLow

Delawaremostly inland floodingLow

Middle Smithfieldmostly inland floodingLow

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’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 here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Walpack is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Walpack’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Walpack. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.