Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cochituate
Cochituate isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cochituate is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1978.
What Cochituate 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.
Does Cochituate flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cochituate, from FEMA’s records.
- The March 2010 nor’easter4 claims · $30K
Cochituate 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 Cochituate remembers
None of the 27 disasters declared for Middlesex County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cochituate itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20104 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Earl, declared for Middlesex County
- 19781 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20011 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Middlesex County
Middlesex County has had 27 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 Cochituate after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cochituate archive →Cochituate 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayland | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 26 |
| Framingham | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 165 |
| Natick | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 36 |
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 Cochituate 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 Cochituate
Does Cochituate flood?
Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Cochituate since 1978, $52K in all. The most claims came from March 2010 Nor'easter (4).
Is Cochituate 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 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cochituate?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cochituate’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 Cochituate?
By flood claims, March 2010 Nor'easter: 4 paid, $30K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cochituate.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cochituate’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.