Flooding in Englewood, New Jersey: the flood zone, the record, and what to do
Englewood floods from short, violent downpours more than from slow river rises. Overpeck Creek and Metzler Brook run through the low middle of the city, and the city itself says its storm drains were built for far smaller storms than the ones it now gets.
FEMA has recorded 410 National Flood Insurance Program claims in Englewood, and more than a quarter of them came from a single night: the remnants of Hurricane Ida in September 2021. The Bergen County hazard mitigation plan puts 10.8 per cent of the city's land in the 1 per cent annual chance flood zone and 16.4 per cent once the 0.2 per cent zone is added. FEMA lists 52 Englewood repetitive-loss properties. This page sets out where the water comes from, what the record shows, and what the city has said about its drainage.
The short version
- FEMA records 410 flood insurance claims in Englewood; 114 came from Hurricane Ida in 2021.
- The county hazard plan puts 10.8 per cent of the city in the 1 per cent flood zone, and 16.4 per cent with the 0.2 per cent zone.
- FEMA lists 52 Englewood repetitive-loss properties, 4 of them severe repetitive loss, as of August 2026.
- Overpeck Creek, Metzler Brook and Flat Rock Brook are the mapped flood sources; the Overpeck flood walls give only limited protection.
- The city says its storm system averages about 70 years old and was built for a 15-year storm.
What the claims record shows
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program data, grouped by community, count 410 claims in the City of Englewood over the life of the programme. The pattern is lopsided. The worst year by far was 2021, with 118 claims, and FEMA attributes 114 of them to Hurricane Ida. The next heaviest years were 2007 with 61 claims, 2011 with 59 and 2024 with 34; by named event, the April 2007 nor'easter and Hurricane Irene account for 56 each and Hurricane Floyd for 27. FEMA's multiple-loss records, as of 2 August 2026, list 52 Englewood properties that have flooded more than once, 4 of them in the severe repetitive loss category. The US Census Bureau counts 11,898 housing units in the city.
How much of Englewood is mapped as flood zone
The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan, using FEMA mapping, counts about 342 acres of Englewood's 3,166 acres, or 10.8 per cent, inside the 1 per cent annual chance Special Flood Hazard Area. Add the 0.2 per cent annual chance zone and the share rises to 16.44 per cent, a gap of more than five points. That band sits outside the zone lenders ask about but inside the area FEMA expects to flood in a rarer storm. The same plan records 495 active flood insurance policies in Englewood as of October 2024, among the higher counts in the county. Englewood joined FEMA's Community Rating System in 1991, but the plan lists it at Class 10 as of April 2025, which carries no premium discount.
Overpeck Creek, Metzler Brook and Flat Rock Brook
FEMA's Flood Insurance Study for Bergen County names four flood sources in the city: Overpeck Creek, Metzlers Creek (the city calls it Metzler Brook), Flat Rock Brook and a small Tributary to Overpeck Creek. A stretch of Flat Rock Brook shared with Leonia, once called Golf Course Creek, is now mapped as Flat Rock Brook Tributary 1. The USGS has kept a gauge on Metzlers Creek in Englewood (01378590). Overpeck Creek was channelled and walled between Route 4 and West Forest Avenue in a flood control project originally designed to hold the 1 per cent flood. FEMA now says it gives only limited protection from frequent floods and is not credited with protection from the 1 per cent flood. Flooding along Route 4 has been reduced, the study adds, but West Forest Avenue can still be a problem.
A storm system built for smaller storms
In a September 2024 presentation on stormwater and flooding, the City of Englewood said parts of its storm water system are more than 100 years old, with an average age of about 70 years, and that it was designed to drain a 15-year storm. After Ida, the city said, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to desnagging and desilting of Overpeck Creek; about 550 truckloads of material were removed and east-west culverts that had been silted in for years were reopened. The city has bought 47 Brook Avenue for a retention basin, adopted a stormwater management plan in October 2023 and joined a grant-funded study with NJIT, Rutgers and Stevens that has catalogued 35 culverts and bridges along Overpeck Creek and Metzler Brook and put water-level sensors in the streams.
August 2024: two storms in twelve days
The same presentation describes the storm of 6 August 2024, when a cell stalled over Englewood Cliffs and Englewood and dropped 5.9 inches of rain in about three hours at rush hour. The city reported more than 300 people rescued. On 18 August a second, shorter burst put down 2.5 inches. The city's flood-depth maps for that night mark water along Metzler Brook and Overpeck Creek near Everett Place and Dwight Morrow High School in the north, Depot Square Park and the Central Avenue residential area in the middle, and Columbus Avenue, the Van Brunt and Lewis intersection and Mackay Park in the south. It also names choke points outside its own control: rail-side swales, a Turnpike drainage easement behind Knapp Place, and a silting Crystal Lake.
What this means if you own or rent here
Englewood's floods arrive in hours, not days, so the time to act is before the storm: clear the gutter and the catch basin outside the house, move valuables and paperwork off the basement floor, and know whether your street drains toward Metzler Brook or Overpeck Creek. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, including the 0.2 per cent zone, rather than assuming a single citywide answer. Sewer backup during a cloudburst is a different problem from surface flooding and is treated differently by insurers. Flood is a separate policy, and FEMA states a new policy normally takes effect 30 days after purchase. About 45 per cent of Englewood households rent, according to the US Census Bureau; a landlord's policy does not protect a tenant's belongings. Whether a given loss is covered is decided by your insurer and your policy wording.
Common questions
Does Englewood, NJ flood?
Yes. FEMA counts 410 flood insurance claims in Englewood, most from intense rainstorms such as Ida in 2021, the April 2007 nor'easter and Irene in 2011. The August 2024 storms led to more than 300 rescues, according to the city.
Which parts of Englewood flood?
The low ground along Overpeck Creek and Metzler Brook. City flood maps from August 2024 mark areas near Everett Place, Depot Square Park, Central Avenue, Columbus Avenue, the Van Brunt and Lewis intersection and Mackay Park, and FEMA notes West Forest Avenue as a continuing problem. Check a specific address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
How much of Englewood is in a flood zone?
The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan puts 10.8 per cent of the city's land in the 1 per cent annual chance flood zone, rising to 16.44 per cent when the 0.2 per cent annual chance zone is included.
Why did Ida hit Englewood so hard?
Ida dropped several inches of rain in a few hours on a city whose storm drains, by its own account, were designed for a 15-year storm, and whose creeks had silted culverts. FEMA attributes 114 Englewood flood claims to that one storm.
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