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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Knowlton Township · FEMA

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

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Knowlton Township gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns, #187 of 468 in New Jersey. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). Flood insurance has paid 109 claims here since 1994.

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#187 of 468 in New Jersey
Hazard risk
B−#187 of 468
in New Jersey · lower than 52% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
109
paid since 1994 · $3.6M
Flooded more than once
37
properties · 10 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
8
of 19 declared for Warren County

What stands out about Knowlton Township’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

109 paid flood claims since 1994$3.6M in all; 37 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 96% of U.S. towns.Moved out of harm’s way5 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.Remembers 200539 flood claims were paid for 2005 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Knowlton 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 Knowlton 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 Knowlton Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Knowlton Township, and Knowlton 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 Knowlton Township sits
Knowlton Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− #187 of 468 in New Jersey; lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Knowlton 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%

The typical New Jersey town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Knowlton Township has less expected damage per building than 60% of New Jersey towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Knowlton Township: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Knowlton Township’s 2,894 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Liberty township (2,670 residents) and Hope township (1,835 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 Knowlton Township flood? Yes: 109 flood claims since 1994

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Knowlton Township, from FEMA’s records: 90.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 4 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 26 claims2005: 39 claims2006: 35 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 2 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 2 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420052006
19942026
Biggest named events
  • The Torrential rain7 claims · $179K
109
paid claims since 1994
$3.6M
paid to owners
37
homes flooded more than once
$33K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (10)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Knowlton 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.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Knowlton Township

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$54K to Knowlton Township for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2021Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$24K to Knowlton Township for repairs
  3. 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$19K to Knowlton Township for repairs
  4. 2012Hurricane Sandy$37K to Knowlton Township for repairs
  5. 2011Severe Storm$31K to Knowlton Township for repairs
  6. 2011Hurricane Irene$76K to Knowlton Township for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to Knowlton Township for repairs35 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$17K to Knowlton Township for repairs26 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Knowlton 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 Knowlton Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Knowlton Township archive →
Next door

Knowlton Township and its neighbors

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

Upper Mount Bethel Township: hazard risk B−Delaware: not gradedBlairstown Township: hazard risk C+Portland: not gradedHope Township: hazard risk B−White Township: hazard risk DColumbia: not gradedHardwick Township: hazard risk A−Upper Mount Bethel TownshipDelawareBlairstown TownshipPortlandHope TownshipWhite TownshipColumbiaHardwick TownshipKnowlton Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Hardwick TownshipA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding—
Upper Mount Bethel TownshipB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding124
Hope TownshipB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding17
Knowlton TownshipB−less damage than 52%river and rain flooding109
Blairstown TownshipC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding68
White TownshipDmore damage than 85%river and rain flooding49
Delaware—101 residents; we grade 1,000+
Portland—546 residents; we grade 1,000+
Columbia—174 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Knowlton 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 Knowlton Township

Is Knowlton Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Knowlton Township has lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #187 of 468 in New Jersey. 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 Knowlton Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 109 claims in Knowlton Township since 1994, $3.6M in all, or 90.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 37 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Torrential rain (7).

Is Knowlton 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 Knowlton Township?

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

By FEMA money that reached Knowlton Township, Hurricane Irene (2011): $76K to Knowlton Township for repairs. By flood claims, Torrential rain: 7 paid, $179K.

Is Knowlton Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

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

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Knowlton Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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