Storms, floods and disasters in Franklin Center
Franklin Center isn’t graded for hazard risk: Franklin Center is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 45 claims here since 1999.
What Franklin Center 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 Franklin Center flood? Sometimes: 45 flood claims since 1999
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Franklin Center, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Ida16 claims · $1.6M
- The April 2007 nor’easter11 claims · $108K
- Hurricane Floyd7 claims · $136K
Franklin Center 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 Franklin Center remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Somerset County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Franklin Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 202116 flood claims paidThe year of Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared for Somerset County
- 200712 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding, declared for Somerset County
- 19997 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Somerset County
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 Franklin Center after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Franklin Center archive →Franklin Center 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | B−more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 188 |
| Bridgewater Township | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 225 |
| Piscataway Township | C−more damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 232 |
| South Bound Brook | Dmore damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 83 |
| Finderne | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Zarephath | — | 17 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Weston | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Middlebush | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| East Millstone | — | 698 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Somerset | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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 Franklin Center 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 Franklin Center
Does Franklin Center flood?
Flood insurance has paid 45 claims in Franklin Center since 1999, $2.4M in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (16).
Is Franklin Center 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 Franklin Center?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Franklin Center’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 Franklin Center?
By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 16 paid, $1.6M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Franklin Center.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Franklin Center’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.