Storms, floods and disasters in Blackwells Mills
Blackwells Mills isn’t graded for hazard risk: Blackwells Mills is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2021.
What Blackwells Mills faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
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.
Does Blackwells Mills flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2021
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Blackwells Mills, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida3 claims · $60K
- The December nor’easter1 claim · $13K
Blackwells Mills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Somerset County.The storms Blackwells Mills remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Somerset County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Blackwells Mills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20213 flood claims paidThe year of Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared for Somerset County
- 20231 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Somerset County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Old photos of Blackwells Mills after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Blackwells Mills archive →Blackwells Mills and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough Township | B−less damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 196 |
| Franklin Township | B−more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 188 |
| Montgomery Township | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 115 |
| Griggstown | — | 812 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Six Mile Run | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Belle Mead | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Pleasant Plains | — | 468 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| East Millstone | — | 698 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Millstone | — | 655 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Blackwells Mills faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about natural hazards in Blackwells Mills
Does Blackwells Mills flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Blackwells Mills since 2021, $72K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (3).
Is Blackwells Mills 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 Somerset County, 53% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Blackwells Mills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blackwells Mills’ 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 Blackwells Mills?
By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 3 paid, $60K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blackwells Mills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blackwells Mills’ 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.