Flooding in Lodi, New Jersey: the flood zone, the record, and what to do
By the map, Lodi looks only mildly exposed. By the record, it is one of the most flooded places in New Jersey. The difference is the Saddle River, which runs through the middle of the borough and rises faster than almost any river nearby.
FEMA counts 1,027 National Flood Insurance Program claims in Lodi, the second-highest total in Bergen County, and lists 143 repetitive-loss properties, 43 of them severe. Yet the Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan places only 7.86 per cent of the borough in the FEMA 1 per cent annual chance flood zone. The flooding is concentrated along the Saddle River, whose gauge at Lodi has exceeded major flood stage by more than four feet five times since 1977.
The short version
- FEMA counts 1,027 flood insurance claims in Lodi, second in Bergen County, and 143 repetitive-loss properties.
- The county plan puts only 7.86 per cent of the borough in the FEMA 1 per cent flood zone; the risk is concentrated along the Saddle River.
- In 2011 the Saddle River at Lodi passed major flood stage four times, in March, April and with Irene in August.
- During Ida the river rose from 2.5 feet to 11.9 feet between mid-afternoon and early the next morning.
- A federal Lower Saddle River flood project was authorised in 1986 and has not been built.
A small flood zone with a large record
Table 4.6-1 of the county plan measures Lodi at 1,466.24 acres and puts 115.22 of them, 7.86 per cent, in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area, or 9.94 per cent with the 0.2 per cent zone added. Dozens of Bergen towns have a larger share. Yet FEMA's NFIP data show 1,027 claims in Lodi, about ten for every hundred of the 10,108 housing units the US Census Bureau counts. Only Little Ferry has more claims in the county, and only two towns have more repetitive-loss properties than Lodi's 143. The county plan itself, using FEMA loss statistics as of October 2024, prints a slightly different count of 1,107 losses; the figures are compiled differently, and both say the same thing. The plan names Lodi among the places where repetitive-loss properties are concentrated, and among the urban centres that often see flash flooding because of ageing or undersized storm drains and paved surfaces.
The record by year and by storm
The heaviest year in Lodi's claim record is 2011, with 191 claims, followed by 2007 with 153, 1999 with 126 and 1984 with 112. By named event, FEMA attributes 150 claims to the April 2007 nor'easter, 150 to Hurricane Irene, 121 to Hurricane Floyd and 93 to Hurricane Ida. 2011 was not one flood but four. The National Weather Service crest list for the Saddle River at Lodi shows 8.13 feet on 7 March, 9.49 feet on 11 March, 9.66 feet on 17 April and then 13.50 feet with Irene on 28 August, all above the 8-foot major flood stage. FEMA's multiple-loss records, as of 2 August 2026, count 43 Lodi properties in the severe repetitive loss category.
What each stage means in Lodi
The Weather Service sets minor flood stage at Lodi at 5.5 feet, moderate at 7 and major at 8. Its impact statements are specific. At 8.5 feet water reaches Washington Elementary School beside Main Street and begins to overflow into the Felician College parking lot. At 9 feet the senior housing complex floods, along with Route 46 by John Street. At 10.5 feet Anna Belli Field and the apartments across the way flood, along with the Sprout Brook area. At 11 feet Main Street is closed between Church Street and Union Street and water enters the basement of Washington Elementary. At 12 feet Passaic Street is impassable, and at 13 feet Main Street is closed from Avenue E to Central Avenue and Voto Tedesco park is under water. The five highest crests on record are 13.94 feet in September 1999, 13.50 in August 2011, 12.99 in April 2007, 12.57 in September 2021 and 12.36 in November 1977.
How fast the river comes up
Ida showed the speed. The Weather Service's flood warnings for Lodi record the river at 2.5 feet at 3:30 on the afternoon of 1 September 2021, 6.1 feet at 9:30 that night, 7.9 feet at 10:45, and 11.9 feet at 5:45 the next morning. FEMA's Individual Assistance records list 378 valid owner-occupant registrations in Lodi after Ida, with 247 approved, the largest response of any recent storm in the borough. The river did it again on 10 January 2024: ABC7 New York reported a crest of 10.27 feet, more than two feet above major flood stage, with flooded basements and lower-level apartments, Main Street closed from Avenue E to Central Avenue, and at least 35 rescues reported by the borough's emergency management office. The county plan also records storms that flooded Main Street and Route 46 without a big river crest, including an August 2001 cloudburst and Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011, when 6.42 inches of rain fell in Lodi.
What has been done, and what has not
Work on the channel goes back decades. FEMA's Flood Insurance Study records local channel improvements on the Saddle River in Lodi in 1954, more after the floods of August and September 1971, and work on Lodi Creek late in 1973 by the borough and the Bergen County Mosquito Control Commission. The US Geological Survey published flood-inundation maps in 2012 for a 2.75-mile reach from just above the Interstate 80 bridge in Rochelle Park to 1.5 miles below the Route 46 bridge in Lodi, showing what each stage covers. A federal Lower Saddle River Flood Protection Project was authorised in 1986; congressional testimony in January 2024 named Lodi among the places it would serve and said contaminated sites in the project area must be addressed before construction. It has not been built. In February 2024 the state Blue Acres buyout programme held one-on-one consultations for flood victims at the Lodi library.
What this means if you own or rent here
If you live anywhere near the Saddle River, the Weather Service forecast page for the Lodi gauge is the most useful link you can save, and the impact list above tells you what a forecast crest means for your street. Plan for an overnight rise: move cars and lift belongings when the flood watch is issued, not when water is visible. Never walk or drive into moving water. Check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, and remember that a small mapped zone does not mean a small risk here. Flood is a separate policy from homeowners insurance, and FEMA states that a new policy normally takes effect 30 days after purchase. About 58 per cent of Lodi households rent, according to the US Census Bureau; basement and ground-floor tenants should know that a landlord's insurance does not cover their belongings. Whether a given loss is covered is decided by your insurer and your policy wording.
Common questions
Does Lodi, NJ flood?
Yes, repeatedly. FEMA counts 1,027 flood insurance claims in the borough, the second-highest total in Bergen County, almost all of it tied to the Saddle River.
What is flood stage on the Saddle River at Lodi?
The National Weather Service sets minor flood stage at 5.5 feet, moderate at 7 feet and major at 8 feet. The record crest is 13.94 feet, set during Floyd on 16 September 1999.
Which Lodi streets flood?
Weather Service impact statements name Main Street, including the stretch between Church Street and Union Street and from Avenue E to Central Avenue, Passaic Street, Route 46 by John Street, Washington Elementary School and Anna Belli Field.
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