Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Chicopee faces less hazard damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chicopee gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns, #156 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then hurricanes (14%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1982.
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
What Chicopee 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
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.
What’s behind Chicopee’s grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chicopee, and Chicopee’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 14% (higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ #156 of 283 in Massachusetts; lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Chicopee’s residents live in 12 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Chicopee has more expected damage per building than 55% of Massachusetts towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $8.5M a year in losses across Chicopee: $7.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Chicopee flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chicopee, from FEMA’s records: 0.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 99% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Chicopee isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hampden County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chicopee
Disasters that paid out in Chicopee itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Chicopee), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$178K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$4.3M to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$21K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms and Tornadoes10 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$148K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$2K to the City of Chicopee for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 10
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding13 households applied for aid$17K aid approved$17K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$93K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2003Snow$56K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
- 2003Snow$87K to the City of Chicopee for repairs
Hampden County has had 18 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.
Old photos of Chicopee after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chicopee archive →Chicopee and its neighbors
Chicopee has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicopee | B+less damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| South Hadley | B+less damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 17 |
| Holyoke | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| West Springfield Town | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Springfield | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Ludlow | Bless damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
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 Chicopee 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.
- 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 Chicopee
Is Chicopee at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chicopee has lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #156 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and hurricanes (14%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Chicopee flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Chicopee since 1982, $1K in all, or 0.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 99% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Chicopee 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 Hampden County, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Chicopee?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chicopee’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 Chicopee?
By FEMA money that reached Chicopee, Severe Storm and Snowstorm (2011): $4.3M to the City of Chicopee for repairs.
Is Chicopee at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Chicopee’s rate for it is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chicopee.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chicopee’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.