Flooding in Cliffside Park, New Jersey: the flood zone, the record, and what to do
Cliffside Park is the clearest case in Bergen County of a town that does not flood in the river or tidal sense. That is worth knowing, because it points residents toward the water problems they are actually likely to meet: drains, sewers and pipes.
The Bergen County hazard mitigation plan finds no land in Cliffside Park inside either the 1 per cent or the 0.2 per cent annual chance flood zone, the only municipality in the county with none. FEMA's flood insurance records show a single claim, in 2023, and no repetitive-loss properties. With 11,174 homes on top of the Palisades and nearly half of households renting, the water damage that does happen here comes from overloaded sewers and storm drains in heavy rain and from leaks inside buildings.
The short version
- Cliffside Park is the only Bergen County municipality with no land in either FEMA flood zone, per the county hazard plan.
- FEMA records one flood insurance claim in the borough, in 2023, and no repetitive-loss properties.
- The county plan counted no active flood policies in Cliffside Park in October 2024.
- The borough's stated priority is upgrading ageing wastewater and stormwater sewers.
- Sewer backup and indoor leaks are the realistic water risks here.
No mapped flood zone at all
The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan lists Cliffside Park's 612 acres with 0.00 acres in FEMA's 1 per cent annual chance Special Flood Hazard Area and none in the 0.2 per cent zone. Every other Bergen municipality, including its cliff-top neighbours Fort Lee and Englewood Cliffs, has at least a sliver. FEMA's Flood Insurance Study for the county agrees, listing Cliffside Park among the boroughs with no Special Flood Hazard Areas on its effective date. The reason is the ground. The borough sits on the crest of the Palisades, which the flood study gives as about 150 feet above sea level here; unlike its neighbour Fort Lee, the borough has no low shoreline strip at the foot of the cliff, which belongs to Edgewater below.
One claim in the record
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program data, grouped by community, show one claim in Cliffside Park over the life of the programme, filed for a loss in 2023 and not tied by FEMA to a named storm. FEMA's multiple-loss records, as of 2 August 2026, list no repetitive-loss properties, and the county plan recorded no active flood insurance policies in the borough as of October 2024. For a borough of 25,781 people, according to the US Census Bureau, that is as close to a clean flood record as Bergen County offers. It also means very few residents have flood cover, which matters only if you are one of the few whose basement or garage takes surface water in a cloudburst.
Sewers and drains are the borough's focus
Cliffside Park's own entry in the 2026 county plan does not talk about rivers. It says the borough plans to keep applying for grants to upgrade its ageing wastewater and stormwater sewer systems so they can handle increased flow and stop leaking, by adding new sewers, relining existing ones and replacing damaged pipe. That is the local version of a county-wide problem: older piped systems sized for lighter rain. When a sewer line surcharges during a downpour, water can rise through basement floor drains and low fixtures even where the street never floods. That is a sewer backup, not a flood, and it is handled differently by insurers.
Water damage that starts indoors
The US Census Bureau puts the median year built of Cliffside Park's 11,174 housing units at 1970, and about 48.6 per cent of households rent. In buildings of that era the most common water losses are internal: a supply line or shut-off valve that fails, a water heater at the end of its life, an appliance hose, or a leak from the unit above in an apartment or condominium building. Those events can spread through shared walls and ceilings, and in a multi-unit building the building's management usually has to be involved before anything is opened up.
What this means if you own or rent here
You almost certainly do not need to plan around river or tidal flooding in Cliffside Park; the FEMA Flood Map Service Center will confirm it for your address. What is worth doing: if you own a house, ask a plumber whether a backwater valve makes sense on your sewer lateral, keep downspouts discharging away from the foundation, and replace old supply hoses. If you rent, report any leak to the landlord in writing with photographs and the time you found it, and keep renters insurance for your belongings, since a landlord's policy does not cover them. Sewer backup is often a separate endorsement. Whether a given loss is covered is decided by your insurer and your policy wording.
Common questions
Does Cliffside Park, NJ flood?
Not in the river or tidal sense. FEMA records one flood insurance claim in the borough, and none of its land is in a mapped flood zone. Heavy rain can still overload sewers and drains.
Is any of Cliffside Park in a flood zone?
No. The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan finds 0.00 acres of the borough in either the 1 per cent or 0.2 per cent annual chance flood zone. You can confirm an address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Why did water come up through my basement drain?
Most likely a sewer surcharge during heavy rain. The borough says it is upgrading ageing sewers. A backwater valve can help, and sewer backup is usually insured, if at all, under a separate endorsement rather than a flood policy.
Find out who to call
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A pipe, water heater, sump pump or drain
Something inside the building failed and the water needs stopping.
Storm water, flooding or a soaked building
Water came in from outside, or the structure is wet and needs drying.
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