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Salem County, NJ flood insurance claims history
824 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Salem County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $9.2M on them. The worst year was 2012 with 150 claims. Salem County ranks #18 of 21 in New Jersey by claim count.
At a glance
- 10% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- 12% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Sandy (2012), which paid $3.6M here.
- Flood claims were filed in 9 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
- More flood claims than 15% of the 21 New Jersey counties with any claims on file — and more than all 2 of its neighbors.
- ZIP 08069 has the most claims in the county (414, 50%). Check your ZIP →
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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid — and which named floods those claims came from, which a county-wide list cannot tell you. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere. Have a street address? Run the printable flood check for it →
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Flood claims by year
Claims by year of loss, 1978–2024. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.
Biggest flood events in Salem County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy | 102 | $3.6M | $35K | 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | 90 | $740K | $8K | 2011 |
| Hurricane Floyd | 90 | $306K | $3K | 1999 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 72 | $187K | $3K | 1980 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 21 | $28K | $1K | 1984 |
| Hurricane Isaias | 18 | $510K | $28K | 2020 |
| Hurricane Gloria | 13 | $46K | $4K | 1985 |
| April 2007 Nor'easter | 11 | $41K | $4K | 2007 |
| December Storm - Nor'easter | 10 | $25K | $3K | 1992 |
| March 2010 Nor'easter | 4 | $11K | $3K | 2010 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 3 | $16K | $5K | 1994 |
| Torrential rain (FEMA general label) | 2 | $2K | $1K | 2005 |
53% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.
Claims by flood zone
Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 654 | $8.7M | $13K |
| Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30) | 1 | $2K | $2K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 73 | $307K | $4K |
| Zone not recorded | 96 | $185K | $2K |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 406 | 49% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 199 | 24% |
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 158 | 19% |
| Other causes | 41 | 5% |
| Not recorded | 19 | 2% |
| Erosion (pre-1995 code) | 1 | 0% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Salem County
13 ZIP codes in Salem County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Salem County.
| 08069 | 414 | $7.0M | 50% | 30 | 2024 |
| 08070 | 267 | $1.6M | 32% | 32 | 2024 |
| 08079 | 87 | $275K | 11% | 22 | 2024 |
| 08318 | 13 | $107K | 2% | 4 | 2024 |
| 08098 | 12 | $63K | 1% | 10 | 2012 |
| 08038 | 9 | $61K | 1% | 4 | 2014 |
| 08023 | 8 | $24K | 1% | 4 | 2011 |
| 08067 | 7 | $32K | 1% | 6 | 2009 |
| 08001 | 2 | $0 | 0% | 2 | 1979 |
| 08072 | 2 | $4K | 0% | 1 | 2011 |
| 08344 | 1 | $11K | 0% | 1 | 1980 |
| Not reported | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1985 |
| 08302 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 2011 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Salem County flood?
October accounts for the most flood losses (210 claims, 25%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 25 | 3% |
| February | 13 | 2% |
| March | 51 | 6% |
| April | 37 | 4% |
| May | 12 | 1% |
| June | 18 | 2% |
| July | 110 | 13% |
| August | 153 | 19% |
| September | 122 | 15% |
| October | 210 | 25% |
| November | 4 | 0% |
| December | 69 | 8% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 13 | $103K |
| 2023 | 2 | $0 |
| 2021 | 26 | $1.4M |
| 2020 | 19 | $510K |
| 2019 | 1 | $0 |
| 2018 | 5 | $0 |
| 2017 | 3 | $24K |
| 2016 | 1 | $0 |
| 2015 | 1 | $1K |
| 2014 | 4 | $13K |
| 2013 | 35 | $441K |
| 2012 | 150 | $4.0M |
| 2011 | 110 | $895K |
| 2010 | 11 | $52K |
| 2009 | 6 | $30K |
| 2008 | 25 | $459K |
| 2007 | 12 | $46K |
| 2006 | 4 | $18K |
| 2005 | 9 | $15K |
| 2004 | 2 | $16K |
| 2003 | 19 | $90K |
| 2000 | 12 | $5K |
| 1999 | 93 | $306K |
| 1998 | 1 | $0 |
| 1997 | 1 | $0 |
| 1996 | 7 | $15K |
| 1994 | 3 | $16K |
| 1993 | 2 | $0 |
| 1992 | 10 | $25K |
| 1991 | 1 | $0 |
| 1989 | 85 | $382K |
| 1988 | 4 | $5K |
| 1985 | 18 | $54K |
| 1984 | 23 | $28K |
| 1983 | 3 | $0 |
| 1981 | 2 | $703 |
| 1980 | 73 | $188K |
| 1979 | 15 | $12K |
| 1978 | 13 | $4K |
Neighboring counties
Salem County borders 2 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem County (this page) | 824 | $9.2M | 10% |
| Cumberland County | 756 | $12.8M | 14% |
| Gloucester County | 709 | $4.8M | 27% |
All 21 New Jersey counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Salem County
- Has Salem County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2024-04-03, and claims were filed in 9 of the last 10 years (71 claims from 2015 to 2024). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-08, so the newest events may not appear yet.
- Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
- Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 10% of Salem County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
- Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
- Why might the real number of floods be higher?
- Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.
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About these numbers
Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 34033, data as of 2026-09-08). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.