Franklin’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Franklin comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1979.
What stands out about Franklin’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Franklin?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 407 of the 564 New Jersey towns we cover.
Franklin covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Franklin faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Strong wind
Drought
Does Franklin flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Franklin, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida1 claim · $2K
Franklin isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hunterdon County.Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Hunterdon County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Franklin itself in FEMA’s records.
Hunterdon County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Get ready for what Franklin actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
- Follow the town’s watering limits.
- Fix drips: they add up.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Franklin and its neighbors
Franklin ranks 3rd calmest of 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Hunterdon County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
- Compared by rate. “Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Franklin’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Franklin.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Franklin, expected losses total about $2.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Franklin.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.