Flooding in Palisades Park, New Jersey: the flood zone, the record, and what to do
Palisades Park is a dense, mostly rented borough on the western slope of the Palisades ridge, with Overpeck Creek at the bottom of the hill. Its flood record is thin, and so, strikingly, is its flood insurance.
The Bergen County hazard mitigation plan puts 7.43 per cent of Palisades Park in the 1 per cent annual chance flood zone, along Overpeck Creek on the borough's western side. FEMA has recorded 25 flood insurance claims here over the life of the programme, never more than two in a year, and lists 2 severe repetitive loss properties. The same county plan counted just 2 active flood policies in the borough in October 2024, against 7,614 housing units. River flooding is limited here; basement water, sewer backup and leaks inside multi-family buildings are the likelier problems.
The short version
- The county hazard plan puts 7.43 per cent of Palisades Park in the 1 per cent flood zone, along Overpeck Creek.
- FEMA records 25 flood claims in the borough, never more than two in a single year.
- Both of the borough's 2 repetitive-loss properties are severe repetitive loss, per FEMA as of August 2026.
- Only 2 flood insurance policies were active in Palisades Park in October 2024, for 7,614 homes.
- About 64.5 per cent of households rent, so tenant contents cover matters more than usual.
Where the flood zone is
The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan counts about 61 of Palisades Park's 821 acres, or 7.43 per cent, in FEMA's 1 per cent annual chance Special Flood Hazard Area. Adding the 0.2 per cent annual chance zone takes it only to 7.52 per cent, because the land rises steeply away from the creek. FEMA's Flood Insurance Study models Overpeck Creek through the borough, and Palisades Park's own flood study dates from December 1981, built on analysis finished in 1979. The mapped area is the low ground on the borough's western edge beside the creek and Overpeck County Park. Most of Palisades Park, on the streets climbing east toward the ridge, sits well above that line.
A record of scattered claims
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program data, grouped by community, count 25 claims in Palisades Park since the programme began. No year stands out: 1981, 2003, 2005 and 2024 each produced two. FEMA links two claims to Hurricane Irene and two to the flooding that hit the New York metro area in July 2025, with others tied to a December nor'easter and to torrential rain. FEMA's multiple-loss records, as of 2 August 2026, list 2 repetitive-loss properties in the borough, and both are in the severe repetitive loss category, meaning a handful of buildings have flooded again and again while the rest of the borough has barely claimed at all.
Almost no one carries flood insurance
The county plan records only 2 active National Flood Insurance Program policies in Palisades Park as of 17 October 2024, among the lowest counts in Bergen County, against 7,614 housing units counted by the US Census Bureau. Part of the explanation is tenure: about 64.5 per cent of households rent, and tenants rarely think of buying flood cover. Part is geography: most of the borough is outside the mapped zone, so lenders do not require it. The effect is that when water does reach a basement apartment or a ground-floor unit after a cloudburst, there is usually no flood policy behind it, and the loss falls to whatever a homeowners or renters policy happens to include, which for flood is usually nothing.
What the borough is working on
In its section of the 2026 county plan, Palisades Park reports that since 2021 it has added storm drains, improved drainage and put back-up power at Borough Hall, and that over the next five years it intends to focus on the pressures of growth, with high-rise buildings going up and population and construction still increasing. The borough is also a member of the regional flooding and stormwater group that the City of Englewood convened in March 2024 with neighbouring towns. More building means more roof and paving, and more runoff for the same drains to carry, which is why drainage rather than the creek is the local focus.
What this means if you own or rent here
If you live near Overpeck Creek, check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Elsewhere, the realistic risks are a basement that takes water in heavy rain, a floor drain that backs up when the sewer surcharges, and leaks from a unit above in a multi-family building. Owners can reduce the first two with clear gutters, downspout extensions and a backwater valve. Renters should know that a landlord's insurance does not cover their belongings, and FEMA sells contents-only flood cover to tenants, although contents kept in basements are limited. Report any leak to the landlord in writing with photographs and the time. Whether a given loss is covered is decided by your insurer and your policy wording.
Common questions
Does Palisades Park, NJ flood?
Not often. FEMA counts 25 flood insurance claims in the borough over several decades. The mapped flood zone is limited to the low ground along Overpeck Creek; elsewhere basement water and sewer backup in heavy rain are the more common problems.
How much of Palisades Park is in a flood zone?
The Bergen County 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan puts 7.43 per cent of the borough's land in the 1 per cent annual chance flood zone, and 7.52 per cent including the 0.2 per cent zone. Check an individual address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can renters in Palisades Park buy flood insurance?
Yes. FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program offers contents-only policies to renters in participating communities. A landlord's policy does not cover a tenant's belongings.
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