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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bernardston · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bernardston faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bernardston gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 85%Hurricanes 7%Tornadoes 3%

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 50%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Massachusetts · lower than 50% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
85% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2011 · $237K
Disasters paid out here
7
of 16 declared for Franklin County
By hazard

What Bernardston 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

85%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

7%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 9% of Bernardston’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 Bernardston’s grade

River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bernardston, and Bernardston’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bernardston sits
Bernardston
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding85%Hurricanes7%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $535K a year in losses across Bernardston: $419K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bernardston’s 2,102 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Gill town (1,551 residents) and Leyden town (734 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 town’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 Bernardston flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bernardston, from FEMA’s records: 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 78% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 1 claim2012: 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 claims2011
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene1 claim · $237K
1
paid claims since 2011
$237K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$237K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Franklin County.
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bernardston

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

  1. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$12K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Irene4 households applied for aid$288 aid approved$55K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $237K
  3. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$57K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs
  4. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$655 aid approved$56K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs
  5. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$4K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BernardstonFranklin County only

Franklin County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Bernardston archive →
Next door

Bernardston and its neighbors

Bernardston is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Leyden: not gradedGreenfield: hazard risk B−Gill: hazard risk B−LeydenGreenfieldGillBernardston
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
GreenfieldB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding41
GillB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding—
BernardstonB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding1
Leyden—637 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 Bernardston 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 Bernardston

Is Bernardston at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bernardston has lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and hurricanes (7%). 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 Bernardston flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Bernardston since 2011, $237K in all, or 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 78% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (1).

Is Bernardston 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 Franklin County, 0.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Bernardston?

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

By FEMA money that reached Bernardston, Severe Winter Storm and Flooding (2008): $57K to the Town of Bernardston for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 1 paid, $237K.

Is Bernardston at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Bernardston’s rate for it is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bernardston.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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