Disaster Data / States / New Jersey / Essex County
CountyEssex County recorded 21 federal disaster and emergency declarations since FY2000 (through FY2025): 12 major disasters, 9 emergencies, and 0 fire-management declarations. Its most common hazard is hurricane.
Highlighted: Essex County, NJ
Totals: FY2000–FY2025 · Page last rebuilt Sep 12, 2026 · the current in-progress fiscal year is not included in totals
The federal disaster record for Essex County runs between 2000 and 2021, covering 21 declarations in all. Its most recent major disaster declaration was Remnants Of Hurricane Ida in 2021. The hazards behind these declarations were most often hurricane, severe storm, and snowstorm. Since 2000, FEMA has obligated about $539.7 million in Public Assistance funding to the jurisdiction, most of it for emergency protective measures.
Historical declarations show what has happened here. These national datasets add context about underlying natural-hazard risk and community vulnerability.
Approximately 94.2% of U.S. counties have an equal or lower overall SVI ranking.
Higher percentiles indicate greater relative social vulnerability within the CDC SVI framework. CDC SVI documentation
The NRI combines expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to describe relative natural-hazard risk. FEMA NRI documentation
Federal share obligated to this jurisdiction under FEMA Public Assistance since 2000, grouped by damage category. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar and reflect obligations, which may change as projects close out.
| Category | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency protective measures(B) | 696 | $458,518,314 |
| Debris removal(A) | 204 | $31,509,185 |
| Management costs(Z) | 41 | $18,235,274 |
| Buildings and equipment(E) | 191 | $11,001,169 |
| Roads and bridges(C) | 104 | $10,454,043 |
| Utilities(F) | 49 | $4,646,666 |
| Parks and recreation(G) | 67 | $3,993,987 |
| Water control facilities(D) | 14 | $1,312,154 |
| All categories | 1,366 | $539,670,792 |
For each disaster, the wait from the declaration to the first federal obligation (amber), then the federal share obligating after that (teal), on a shared 12-year scale. Typical wait to the first obligation here: about 108 days. An obligation is the federal share committed to the recipient state, not funds disbursed to the locality, which comes later and is not shown.
FEMA Individual Assistance to households in this jurisdiction, combined across the Housing Assistance owner and renter programs. Valid registrations are households that applied within a designated Individual Assistance area; approved counts and dollars are the households FEMA found eligible under the Individuals and Households Program. Figures are self-reported and drawn from NEMIS through OpenFEMA, not audited, and Individual Assistance exists only for disasters where it was designated, so many jurisdictions show none.
| Assistance type | Approved amount |
|---|---|
| Repair and replacement | $51,997,588 |
| Rental assistance | $14,779,731 |
| Other needs | $21,976,343 |
Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance obligated to this jurisdiction to reduce future disaster losses, across the FEMA mitigation programs. This is the record of past mitigation investment a local hazard mitigation plan documents. Figures are federal share obligated, reported through OpenFEMA and not audited, and are separate from the Public Assistance funding above.
| Program | Projects | Federal share obligated |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP) | 29 | $6,065,985 |
| Flood Mitigation Assistance(FMA) | 2 | $5,643,566 |
| Pre-Disaster Mitigation(PDM) | 2 | $1,066,593 |
| Severe Repetitive Loss(SRL) | 1 | $1,045,238 |
| Repetitive Flood Claims(RFC) | 1 | $889,230 |
| Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation(LPDM) | 2 | $551,319 |
Emergency declarations issued by the governor of this state, which are separate from and usually precede a federal declaration. A declaration is listed here when NOAA Storm Events recorded reports of the matched hazard in this jurisdiction while the order was in effect. That is evidence of local impact during a declared state emergency. It is not a statement that the governor named this jurisdiction in the order, since most state declarations apply statewide and name no localities at all. Hazard categories come from the order text. Damage figures are NOAA storm report estimates for this jurisdiction only, not the cost of the declaration.
Archive coverage for New Jersey: 1990-present (structured, provisional start date - see adapter notes); 1962-1989 selectively represented only, not systematically collected
| Signed | Order | Declaration | Hazards reported here | Reported damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 2021 | 272 | Declares State of Emergency in Preparation for Nor’easter Storm | Flash Flood | Not reported |
| Sep 1, 2021 | 259 | Governor Murphy Declares State of Emergency in Response to Tropical Storm Ida | Flash Flood | Not reported |
| Aug 14, 2018 | 33 | Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order Declaring State of Emergency in Flood-Impacted Counties | Flash Flood | Not reported |
| Apr 16, 2007 | 64 | Declares a State of Emergency presently exists throughout the State of New Jersey. | Flood | $4,000,000 |
| Sep 15, 1999 | 101 | Declares a State of Emergency in the State of New Jersey due to flooding from Hurricane Floyd. | Flash Flood | $7,300,000 |
| Aug 22, 1997 | 73 | Declares State of Emergency due to torrential rainfall and resultant flooding and damages, etc., in counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland and Ocean | Heavy Rain | Not reported |
| Oct 18, 1996 | 61 | Governor Christine Todd Whitman Return to EO Index | Flash Flood | $5,000,000 |
Source: state executive order archives collected by DisasterData Plus, joined to NOAA Storm Events. See the Plus overview for per-state coverage and method.
Every local hazard mitigation plan must document previous occurrences of each hazard. Here is that record for Essex County, sourced to OpenFEMA and refreshed weekly. Copy it straight into your plan.
| Hazard | Date | FEMA declaration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Sep 5, 2021 | DR-4614-NJ | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 2, 2021 | EM-3573-NJ | EM |
| Hurricane | Dec 11, 2020 | DR-4574-NJ | DR |
| Biological | Mar 25, 2020 | DR-4488-NJ | DR |
| Biological | Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3451-NJ | EM |
| Severe Storm | Jun 8, 2018 | DR-4368-NJ | DR |
| Severe Storm | Mar 14, 2016 | DR-4264-NJ | DR |
| Hurricane | Oct 30, 2012 | DR-4086-NJ | DR |
| Hurricane | Oct 28, 2012 | EM-3354-NJ | EM |
| Severe Storm | Nov 30, 2011 | DR-4048-NJ | DR |
| Hurricane | Aug 31, 2011 | DR-4021-NJ | DR |
| Hurricane | Aug 27, 2011 | EM-3332-NJ | EM |
| Snowstorm | Feb 4, 2011 | DR-1954-NJ | DR |
| Severe Storm | Apr 2, 2010 | DR-1897-NJ | DR |
| Severe Storm | Apr 26, 2007 | DR-1694-NJ | DR |
| Hurricane | Sep 19, 2005 | EM-3257-NJ | EM |
| Severe Storm | Apr 19, 2005 | DR-1588-NJ | DR |
| Other | Sep 23, 2003 | EM-3188-NJ | EM |
| Snowstorm | Mar 20, 2003 | EM-3181-NJ | EM |
| Fire | Sep 19, 2001 | EM-3169-NJ | EM |
| Other | Nov 1, 2000 | EM-3156-NJ | EM |
DR = Major disaster (Stafford Act) · EM = Emergency declaration · FM = Fire management assistance
Showing 21 declarations
| Date | Number | Type | Hazard | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 2021 | DR-4614-NJ | DR | Hurricane | Remnants Of Hurricane Ida |
| Sep 2, 2021 | EM-3573-NJ | EM | Hurricane | Remnants Of Hurricane Ida |
| Dec 11, 2020 | DR-4574-NJ | DR | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Isaias |
| Mar 25, 2020 | DR-4488-NJ | DR | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Mar 13, 2020 | EM-3451-NJ | EM | Biological | Covid-19 |
| Jun 8, 2018 | DR-4368-NJ | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Mar 14, 2016 | DR-4264-NJ | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Oct 30, 2012 | DR-4086-NJ | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Oct 28, 2012 | EM-3354-NJ | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| Nov 30, 2011 | DR-4048-NJ | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storm |
| Aug 31, 2011 | DR-4021-NJ | DR | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Aug 27, 2011 | EM-3332-NJ | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| Feb 4, 2011 | DR-1954-NJ | DR | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm |
| Apr 2, 2010 | DR-1897-NJ | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Apr 26, 2007 | DR-1694-NJ | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding |
| Sep 19, 2005 | EM-3257-NJ | EM | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| Apr 19, 2005 | DR-1588-NJ | DR | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding |
| Sep 23, 2003 | EM-3188-NJ | EM | Other | Power Outage |
| Mar 20, 2003 | EM-3181-NJ | EM | Snowstorm | Snow |
| Sep 19, 2001 | EM-3169-NJ | EM | Fire | Fires And Explosions |
| Nov 1, 2000 | EM-3156-NJ | EM | Other | West Nile Virus |
Drawn from FEMA's OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, rebuilt each week. A declaration is counted here once for each designated area it names, so a single disaster covering many localities is counted in each one. For that reason these jurisdiction counts do not sum to New Jersey's statewide total. This page counts declarations that named this jurisdiction as a designated area. Totals cover complete fiscal years (Oct 1 to Sep 30); the in-progress year may appear in the most-recent list but is not counted in the totals. Uses OpenFEMA data but is not endorsed by or affiliated with FEMA.
Choose a citation style, then copy the formatted citation. This profile is derived from FEMA OpenFEMA data and is updated as the underlying Disaster Data build is refreshed.