Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Hamilton Square
Hamilton Square isn’t graded for hazard risk: Hamilton Square is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1978.
What Hamilton Square 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
Hurricanes
Strong wind
Earthquakes
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 Hamilton Square flood? Sometimes: 13 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hamilton Square, from FEMA’s records.
Hamilton Square isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Mercer County.The storms Hamilton Square remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Mercer County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hamilton Square itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19786 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19793 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19802 flood claims paidThe year of Water Shortage, declared for Mercer County
Mercer County has had 20 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 Hamilton Square after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hamilton Square archive →Hamilton Square 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robbinsville Township | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Hamilton Township | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 247 |
| West Windsor Township | C−more damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | 74 |
| Mercerville | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Robbinsville Center | — | 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 Hamilton Square 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.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Hamilton Square
Does Hamilton Square flood?
Flood insurance has paid 13 claims in Hamilton Square since 1978, $27K in all.
Is Hamilton Square 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 Mercer County, 42% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hamilton Square?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hamilton Square’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hamilton Square.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hamilton Square’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.