The flood claims calendar

Across New Jersey

Every row is a year, every sliver a day, and its brightness the flood insurance claims New Jersey’s homes made for it. Most of the calendar is dark. Then a storm draws a bright stripe: Sandy’s 61,812 claims on 29 October 2012 are more than most whole years. Ten days hold 68% of the 169,093 claims paid since 1978.

FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program redacted claims (OpenFEMA), every claim with anything paid, dated by its day of loss; a storm’s claims can spread over the days after it. Only insured homes claim, and fewer homes were insured in the 1970s and 1980s than since, so early years run darker than their floods were. OpenFEMA’s terms forbid trying to identify claimants; nothing here is below a statewide count. More visual stories →