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Moravian Grist Mill, Hope, NJPhoto: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hope Township · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Hope Township as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hope Township gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 1981.

River and rain flooding 83%Hurricanes 6%Strong wind 5%

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

less than 52%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in New Jersey · lower than 52% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
17
paid since 1981 · $170K
Flooded more than once
3
properties
Disasters paid out here
9
of 19 declared for Warren County
By hazard

What Hope Township 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

83%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 19 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Winter storms Hail Wildfire Landslides top 5% Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Avalanches top 2%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 13% of Hope Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Hope Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hope Township, and Hope Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 5%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Hope Township sits
Hope Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Hurricanes6%Strong wind5%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Hope Township: $801K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Hope Township’s 1,835 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Knowlton township (2,894 residents) and Liberty township (2,670 residents) and Mountain Lake CDP (494 residents) and Silver Lake CDP (333 residents) and Hope CDP (256 residents) and Columbia CDP (215 residents) and Delaware CDP (173 residents) and Mount Hermon CDP (172 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’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 Hope Township flood? Sometimes: 17 flood claims since 1981

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hope Township, from FEMA’s records: 20.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 84% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1981: 1 claim1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 1 claim1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 3 claims2005: 1 claim2006: 0 claims2007: 1 claim2008: 2 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 8 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420082011
19812026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene5 claims · $69K
  • The April 2007 nor’easter1 claim · $3K
17
paid claims since 1981
$170K
paid to owners
3
homes flooded more than once
$10K
average claim
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

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

Insurance rates: Warren County.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hope Township

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$371K to Hope Township for repairs
  2. 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida1 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
  3. 2021Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$27K to Hope Township for repairs
  4. 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$15K to Hope Township for repairs
  5. 2012Hurricane Sandy5 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$57K to Hope Township for repairs
  6. 2011Severe Storm$20K to Hope Township for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee$48K to Hope Township for repairs
  2. 2011Hurricane Irene26 households applied for aid$42K aid approved$19K to Hope Township for repairs5 flood claims paid for it, $69K
  3. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$8K aid approved$26K to Hope Township for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Hope TownshipWarren County only

Warren County has had 19 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Hope Township archive →
Next door

Hope Township and its neighbors

Hope Township is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Blairstown Township: hazard risk C+Liberty Township: hazard risk B−Knowlton Township: hazard risk B−White Township: hazard risk DFrelinghuysen Township: hazard risk A−Blairstown TownshipLiberty TownshipKnowlton TownshipWhite TownshipFrelinghuysen TownshipHope Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Frelinghuysen TownshipA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding2
Liberty TownshipB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding3
Knowlton TownshipB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding109
Hope TownshipB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding17
Blairstown TownshipC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding68
White TownshipDmore damage than 85%river and rain flooding49

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Hope Township faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Hope Township

Is Hope Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hope Township has lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%) and hurricanes (6%). 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.

Does Hope Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 17 claims in Hope Township since 1981, $170K in all, or 20.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 84% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (5).

Is Hope Township 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 Warren County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Hope Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hope Township’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 Hope Township?

By FEMA money that reached Hope Township, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): $371K to Hope Township for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 5 paid, $69K.

Is Hope Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Hope Township’s rate for it is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hope Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hope Township’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.