A resident-built flood warning system for North Bergen, NJ
NB Flood Watch is a free, open-source web tool that pulls live forecast data from the National Weather Service and warns Hudson Avenue corridor residents when rainfall is projected to exceed a validated 0.8″/hr flood threshold. The threshold was derived from five years of resident records cross-referenced with NWS, CoCoRaHS, and NJ State Climatologist data, and matches the threshold used by the Hoboken Office of Emergency Management for the same drainage system.
Headline numbers
Pre-written 200-word summary
Use as-is or as a starting point. No attribution required.
Quotable statistics
- 0.8 inches per hour — the rainfall rate at which the Hudson Avenue corridor begins to flood. Independently used by Hoboken OEM.
- ~1.3 inches of total rainfall caused street and basement flooding on August 17, 2025 — not an extreme event by any standard.
- 7 of 7 documented events since 2020 produced reported basement flooding. The threshold model has zero false negatives in the historical record.
- +4% precipitation intensification per °F of warming (Clausius–Clapeyron) — the underlying climate-driven trend.
- 5 years of correspondence between residents and the township; 2 community meetings held; 0 capacity upgrades funded as of May 2026.
On-the-record asks
What residents are formally requesting from North Bergen Township:
- Build the parallel trunk line proposed by the township's engineer in August 2025.
- Plan and fund a Hudson Avenue pump station, as residents have requested for years.
- Publish a public project timeline with named funding sources (FEMA BRIC, NJDEP, IRA flood mitigation, municipal bond).
- Run proactive catch-basin cleaning before every NWS Flash Flood Watch — not just after.
- Issue quarterly written updates to affected residents while infrastructure work is pending.
Notable on-the-record statements
"We all know nothing will be a 100% solution; however the steps that we are taking and proposing will be a start in the right direction." — Township official, March 27, 2026 (post-meeting summary)
"I just wanted to wait until we have some concrete ideas." — Township official, August 20, 2025 — when residents requested a firm date for a follow-up meeting
"My furnace is on cinder blocks and in the last storm rain managed to reach above 6 inches. This is no way to live." — Resident, October 12, 2025
Background
The Hudson Avenue corridor sits on a low-lying parcel that the township's own engineering firm has, in a public meeting, described as geographically vulnerable. The drainage system is a combined sewer (rain + sanitary), which is overwhelmed when intense rainfall outpaces pipe capacity. The 0.8″/hr threshold reflects that pipe-capacity bottleneck, not regional rainfall in general.
The corridor saw two declared "completed" point-repair projects on different blocks prior to the worst flooding year on record (2025), indicating the issue requires capacity upgrade — not maintenance.
Image and asset use
The live site at index.html is freely screenshot-able and quotable. The validation analysis (threshold derivation, event records) is embedded in the timeline and evidence sections of the live site. For source data, see National Weather Service, CoCoRaHS, and NJ State Climatologist.
Contact
Same address; tag your subject line "PRESS" or "REPORT". Replies typically within 48 hours.
About NB Flood Watch
Built and maintained by residents of the Woodcliff section of North Bergen, NJ. No funding, no advertising, no sign-up, no tracking. Source code and data methodology are openly available on request. This is a community information service, not an official emergency alert system. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.