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Trenton City HallPhoto: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Trenton · FEMA

FEMA puts Trenton’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 64% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Trenton gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (50%), then river and rain flooding (42%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 50%River and rain flooding 42%Tornadoes 3%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 64%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Florida · higher than 64% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
50% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 25 declared for Gilchrist County
By hazard

What Trenton faces

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

Hurricanes

50%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

42%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Wildfire Earthquakes Strong wind Lightning Cold waves Hail Winter storms Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

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

What’s behind Trenton’s grade

Hurricanes are 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Trenton, and Trenton’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Trenton sits
Trenton
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Trenton’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes50%River and rain flooding42%Tornadoes3%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $693K a year in losses across Trenton: $475K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, FEMA took 1,071 aid registrations from Trenton addresses (the town has 830 homes).
Shared tract.All of Trenton’s 2,015 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Trenton flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Trenton. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Trenton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Gilchrist County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
6buildings retrofitted against wind
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Trenton

Disasters that paid out in Trenton itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Trenton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Helene851 households applied for aid$1.3M aid approved
  2. 2024Hurricane Debby512 households applied for aid$459K aid approved
  3. 2023Hurricane Idalia530 households applied for aid$529K aid approved$36K to the City of Trenton for repairs
  4. 2017Hurricane Irma1,071 households applied for aid$364K aid approved
  5. 2012Tropical Storm Debby7 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
  6. 2004Hurricane Jeanne254 households applied for aid$610K aid approved$9K to the City of Trenton for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2004Hurricane Frances491 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved$38K to the City of Trenton for repairs
  2. 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley1 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in TrentonGilchrist County only

Gilchrist County has had 25 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Gilchrist County, 1999–2000.

Were you here?

Old photos of Trenton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Trenton archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Trenton faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Trenton

Is Trenton at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Trenton has higher expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (50%) and river and rain flooding (42%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Trenton in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Gilchrist County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Trenton?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Trenton’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Trenton?

By FEMA money that reached Trenton, Hurricane Helene (2024): 851 households applied for aid, $1.3M approved.

Is Trenton at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Trenton’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Trenton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Trenton’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.