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-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Port Reading
Port Reading isn’t graded for hazard risk: Port Reading is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 193 claims here since 1979.
What Port Reading 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
Coastal flooding
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 Port Reading flood? Yes: 193 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Port Reading, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Sandy92 claims · $3.4M
- Hurricane Irene40 claims · $971K
- The December Storm - nor’easter24 claims · $177K
Port Reading isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Middlesex County.The storms Port Reading remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Middlesex County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Port Reading itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 201292 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Sandy, declared for Middlesex County
- 201141 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storm, declared for Middlesex County
- 199224 flood claims paidThe year of Coastal Storm, High Tides, Heavy Rain, and Flooding, declared for Middlesex County
Middlesex 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 Port Reading after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Port Reading archive →Port Reading 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carteret | B+less damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 196 |
| Woodbridge Township | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 597 |
| Sewaren | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Avenel | — | 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 Port Reading 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Port Reading
Does Port Reading flood?
Flood insurance has paid 193 claims in Port Reading since 1979, $4.8M in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (92).
Is Port Reading 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 Middlesex County, 54% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Port Reading?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Port Reading’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 Port Reading?
By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 92 paid, $3.4M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Port Reading.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Port Reading’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.