Flooding in Haledon, New Jersey: the record, Molly Ann Brook, and what to do
Haledon is not a river town in the way Wayne or Pompton Lakes are. Its flood record is short, and it is driven by one small brook and by the kind of cloudburst that fills streets before any river has time to rise.
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program records 35 flood claims in Haledon over the life of the programme and one repetitive-loss property. The worst single year was 1990, and Hurricane Ida in 2021 is the named storm with the most claims. FEMA's flood study for Passaic County places the borough's flood problem along Molly Ann Brook and on a handful of streets near Church Street. This page sets out that record honestly: river flooding is uncommon here, and most water damage in Haledon homes is more likely to come from heavy rain, drains and basements.
The short version
- FEMA NFIP records show 35 lifetime flood claims in Haledon and one repetitive-loss property.
- Hurricane Ida in 2021 is the named storm with the most Haledon claims (6); the single worst year was 1990 (11).
- FEMA's flood study names Molly Ann Brook as Haledon's flood source, with problems at the Church Street Bridge, Haledon Avenue and North 16th Street.
- An Army Corps channel project on Molly Ann Brook, designed for the 50-year storm, runs from Paterson to Church Street in Haledon.
- Most Haledon households rent; a landlord's flood policy does not cover tenants' belongings.
The record in numbers
FEMA's OpenFEMA claim data lists 35 NFIP flood claims for the Borough of Haledon. The years with the most claims are 1990 (11), 2021 (6), 1984 (4) and 2011 (3). By named event, Hurricane Ida accounts for 6, Hurricane Irene for 3, and Hurricane Floyd and the April 2007 nor'easter for one each. FEMA's Multiple Loss Properties data, as of 2 August 2026, shows one repetitive-loss property in the borough and no severe repetitive-loss properties. For scale, the US Census Bureau counts 3,239 housing units and 8,980 residents in Haledon. Dividing the claim count by those homes gives about 11 claims per 1,000 homes over the life of the programme, our own calculation and a fraction of the figures for the Pompton and Passaic towns to the west. The Census also puts the median year of construction at 1963, and 52.4 per cent of Haledon households rent.
Molly Ann Brook: the one watercourse that matters
FEMA's countywide Flood Insurance Study, revised April 17, 2020, names Molly Ann Brook as the flood source for Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park and Paterson. The whole brook drains just 7.94 square miles, a small catchment by any measure. In Haledon the study describes flooding in low-lying areas along the brook, made worse where Molly Ann Brook Tributary 2 adds its flow at the Church Street Bridge. It records street flooding at Haledon Avenue, North 16th Street and Church Street, and flooding at an apartment complex near Church Street and Richardson Street. Those are the places to look first if you are judging a particular address. Elsewhere in the borough, the study is silent, which is not the same as dry.
The channel work between Haledon and Paterson
The same FEMA study describes a long-term US Army Corps of Engineers flood control project on Molly Ann Brook, running about 2.5 miles from the brook's confluence with the Passaic River in Paterson up to Church Street in Haledon. It involves widening and deepening the channel, concrete retaining walls and U-walls, bank reinforcement, and bridge modifications or replacements, and is designed for a two per cent annual chance storm, often called the 50-year flood. FEMA states that the effects of the project are built into the April 2020 flood maps. Two practical points follow. A project designed for the 50-year storm leaves larger storms possible. And the protected reach ends at Church Street, which is also where the study places the tributary problem. The borough also takes part in post-storm stream clean-ups to clear debris, according to FEMA.
Ida, and why it topped Haledon's list
Ida's remnants crossed New Jersey on September 1 and 2, 2021, and FEMA declared a federal disaster, DR-4614, that included Passaic County. In Haledon's NFIP record it is the named storm with the most claims, ahead of Irene, which caused far more damage in the river towns. That pattern is typical of a borough on a small, steep brook. Long, soaking storms such as Irene push the big rivers to record levels over days; Ida dropped intense rain over hours, which overwhelms a brook with a small catchment, street drains and basement walls at the same time. Much of that kind of damage never becomes a flood claim at all, because the water came through a drain or a foundation rather than over the ground.
Water damage that a flood claim would not count
With so few flood claims, the more common causes of wet basements in Haledon are worth naming. Groundwater pushing through a basement wall or floor after days of rain. A sewer or storm drain backing up through a floor drain when the system is overloaded. A sump pump that fails or loses power at the worst moment. Gutters and downspouts emptying beside the foundation. These are not river flooding, and insurers treat them differently: flood is a separate policy, sewer backup is often handled through an optional endorsement on a homeowners policy, and seepage is often excluded altogether. Whether a particular loss is covered is decided by your insurer and the wording of your policy.
What this means if you own or rent here
First, check the map for your own address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center rather than assuming either way; Haledon's current effective flood maps date from April 17, 2020. Second, if you are on or near Church Street, Haledon Avenue, North 16th Street or close to the brook, treat flood insurance as a real question: FEMA's FloodSmart site reports that nearly one third of NFIP claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside high-risk areas, and a new policy normally takes 30 days to take effect. Third, if you rent, as most Haledon households do, a landlord's flood policy covers the building, not your belongings; FEMA states renters in a participating community can buy contents cover of their own, with limits on what is covered in a basement. Finally, when heavy rain is forecast, lift anything valuable off the basement floor and check the sump pump.
Common questions
Does Haledon flood?
Rarely from rivers, by the FEMA record: 35 NFIP claims over the life of the programme. FEMA's flood study places the problem along Molly Ann Brook and on streets near Church Street, Haledon Avenue and North 16th Street. Basement water from heavy rain, drains and groundwater is a more common source of damage, and it does not show up in flood claims.
Which storm caused the most flood claims in Haledon?
Hurricane Ida in September 2021, with 6 claims in FEMA's NFIP data, ahead of Irene with 3. The year with the most claims overall was 1990, with 11, but the FEMA data does not attach a named event to them.
Is my Haledon home in a flood zone?
Search the address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Haledon's current effective flood maps are dated April 17, 2020, and include the effects of the Army Corps work on Molly Ann Brook. No town-wide flood-zone percentage has been verified for Haledon.
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