13 NJ Climate Disasters Since 2011, Report Predicts Future Readiness

NEW JERSEY - Ninety percent of U.S. counties faced at least one federal climate disaster in the last decade, including all New Jersey states, according to a new study released by the organization Rebuild by Design.

The “Atlas of Disaster” analysis, conducted in collaboration with APTIM and iParametrics engineers, researchers, finance experts, data managers, and volunteers and published last month, contains a county-by-county breakdown of recent climate impacts. According to the report, the Garden State has seen its fair share of its own recent climate issues, as well as current vulnerability factors that may warrant further action.

The New Jersey has reported 13 climate disaster declarations since 2011, according to the study, with all 21 counties having reported five or more disasters in the last decade. Morris County has reported nine recent climate disasters, while Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland and Essex County have all reported eight each, per the analysis. Disasters include severe winds and Hurricane Irene in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a severe winter storm in 2018 and Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020.

As a result, $7.2 billion has been awarded to the state in FEMA ($2.8 billion) and HUD ($4.4 billion) post-disaster funding with an $814 per capita cost, although $5.2 billion of climate infrastructure in the state could be supported through a small insurance surcharge, the report said. That’s compared to a combined $19 billion FEMA and HUD assistance nationwide, with California reporting the highest number of disasters since 2011 (25).

The state spends an additional $157 per capita on climate disasters, the report said.

Bergen County has received the most federal assistance since 2011 with over $110 million post-disaster funds.

The report also noted New Jersey’s D+ ASCE infrastructure report card grade, which outlines deficient roads, bridges and dams.

“This deteriorating infrastructure impedes New Jersey’s ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace,” the report card reads. “Success in a 21st-century economy requires serious, sustained leadership on infrastructure investment at all levels of government. Delaying these investments only escalates the cost and risks of an aging infrastructure system, an option that the country, New Jersey, and families can no longer afford.”

However, not all counties share the same climate, social and health risks, according to Rebuild By Design: Ocean County touts the highest compounding risks, such as high risk of climate disasters, density, population change and sea level rise, according to the report. Camden, Essex and Hudson counties also demonstrate risks in population density and rising sea level categories.

Is there a solution to any of it?

According to Rebuild by Design, some solutions consist of developing new sources of funding, raising state capital for infrastructure and prioritizing multi-benefit projects. Other recommendations listed include creating a co-creation process with stakeholders to develop innovative infrastructure and protect vulnerable communities in the face of climate issues.

You can read the entire study here.

"The current process by which federal disasters are declared – and money allocated – represents a time when climate disasters were anomalies. This is no longer the case," the report reads. "The United States needs to catch up to the current reality and rethink how to shift resources to prepare communities before there is human suffering and physical, economic, and social harm to communities."