Storms, floods and disasters in The Hills
The Hills isn’t graded for hazard risk: The Hills is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024.
What The Hills 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
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 The Hills flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2024
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in The Hills, from FEMA’s records.
The Hills 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 The Hills remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Somerset County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching The Hills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20241 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
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 The Hills after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the The Hills archive →The Hills 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernards Township | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 69 |
| Bridgewater Township | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 225 |
| Bedminster Township | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 37 |
| Pluckemin | — | 489 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Liberty Corner | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Far Hills | — | 948 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.
Get ready for what The Hills 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.
- 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 The Hills
Does The Hills flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in The Hills since 2024, $27K in all.
Is The Hills 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 The Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for The Hills’ 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 The Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where The Hills’ 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.