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Natural hazards · Plainsboro

Plainsboro, NJ natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Plainsboro comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1994. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is Plainsboro?

83
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Plainsboro to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding84%Everything else16%
By hazard

What Plainsboro faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

84% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Plainsboro flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Plainsboro, from FEMA’s records.

11paid claims since 1994
$141Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19942026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Irene: 5 claims, $68K
  • Tropical Storm Henri: 2 claims, $38K
  • April 2007 Nor'easter: 1 claim, $4K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Plainsboro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Middlesex County.
Disasters that hit Plainsboro

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Plainsboro itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of Plainsboro.

Brought FEMA money into PlainsboroDeclared for Middlesex County only
2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

53 households applied for aid $30K aid approved
2016

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$47K to the Township of Plainsboro for repairs
2012

Hurricane Sandy

73 households applied for aid $9K aid approved $195K to the Township of Plainsboro for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

19 households applied for aid $49K aid approved $42K to the Township of Plainsboro for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$38K to the Township of Plainsboro for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $17K to the Township of Plainsboro for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

5 households applied for aid $15K aid approved
1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$7K to the Township of Plainsboro for repairs
Middlesex County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around Plainsboro

Plainsboro and the towns around it

West Windsor: High, mostly inland floodingEast Windsor: Very high, mostly inland floodingSouth Brunswick: Low, mostly inland floodingCranbury: High, mostly inland floodingPrinceton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRobbinsville: Low, mostly inland floodingLawrence: High, mostly inland floodingHamilton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMonroe: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMillstone: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Brunswick: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEast Brunswick: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFranklin: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMontgomery: High, mostly inland floodingHopewell: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPlainsboro: Very high, mostly inland flooding PlainsboroWest WindsorEast WindsorSouth BrunswickCranburyPrinceton
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Plainsboromostly inland floodingVery high
East Windsormostly inland floodingVery high
West Windsormostly inland floodingHigh
Cranburymostly inland floodingHigh
Princetonmostly inland floodingModerate
South Brunswickmostly inland floodingLow
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’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 here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Plainsboro covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Plainsboro’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Plainsboro. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Plainsboro total about $14.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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