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Colrain-Green RiverPhoto: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Colrain · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Colrain than in 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Colrain gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1987.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 2%

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

more than 85%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Massachusetts · higher than 85% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1987 · $11K
Disasters paid out here
10
of 16 declared for Franklin County
By hazard

What Colrain 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

92%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Landslides top 4% Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Colrain’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Colrain, and Colrain’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Colrain sits
Colrain
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $752K a year in losses across Colrain: $659K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Colrain’s 1,606 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Charlemont town (1,185 residents) and Heath town (723 residents) and Rowe town (424 residents) and Hawley town (353 residents) and Monroe town (118 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 Colrain flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1987

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Colrain, from FEMA’s records: 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1987: 1 claim1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 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 claims19872004
19872026
2
paid claims since 1987
$11K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$5K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Colrain 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

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Colrain

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

  1. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$14K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene62 households applied for aid$242K aid approved$789K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  4. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$67K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$65K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  6. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$197K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$11K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
  4. 2001Snow$10K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ColrainFranklin 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 Colrain after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Colrain archive →
Next door

Colrain and its neighbors

Colrain is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Leyden: not gradedHalifax: not gradedHeath: not gradedCharlemont: hazard risk C−LeydenHalifaxHeathCharlemontColrain
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
CharlemontC−more damage than 85%river and rain flooding4
ColrainC−more damage than 85%river and rain flooding2
Leyden—637 residents; we grade 1,000+
Halifax—847 residents; we grade 1,000+
Heath—765 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 Colrain 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 ↗
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 Colrain

Is Colrain at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Colrain has higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Colrain flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Colrain since 1987, $11K in all, or 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Colrain 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 Colrain?

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

By FEMA money that reached Colrain, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 62 households applied for aid, $242K approved, and $789K to the Town of Colrain for repairs.

Is Colrain at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Colrain’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Colrain.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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