Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Dracut 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, Dracut gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns, #226 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1979.
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 Dracut 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.
What’s behind Dracut’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dracut, and Dracut’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #226 of 283 in Massachusetts; lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Dracut’s residents live in 5 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, Dracut has more expected damage per building than 80% of Massachusetts towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.5M a year in losses across Dracut: $5.9M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dracut flood? Sometimes: 20 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dracut, from FEMA’s records: 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The April 2007 nor’easter3 claims · $58K
Dracut 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.15 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dracut
Disasters that paid out in Dracut itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Dracut), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$120K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$132K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$135K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$67K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$14K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$103K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
Show all 15
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding64 households applied for aid$121K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$135K to the Town of Dracut for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding65 households applied for aid$98K aid approved$134K to the Town of Dracut for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$301 aid approved
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$73K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2004Flooding10 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2003Snow$97K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2003Snow$53K to the Town of Dracut for repairs
- 2001Snow$78K to the Town of Dracut for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
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 Dracut after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dracut archive →Dracut and its neighbors
Dracut is 5th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tewksbury | Aless damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 61 |
| Methuen | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 96 |
| Tyngsborough | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 25 |
| Andover | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 147 |
| Dracut | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 20 |
| Lowell | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 195 |
| Pelham | Cmore damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 24 |
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 Dracut 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 Dracut
Is Dracut at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dracut has lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #226 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and hurricanes (7%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Dracut flood?
Flood insurance has paid 20 claims in Dracut since 1979, $358K in all, or 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from April 2007 Nor'easter (3).
Is Dracut 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 Dracut?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dracut’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 Dracut?
By FEMA money that reached Dracut, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 65 households applied for aid, $98K approved, and $134K to the Town of Dracut for repairs. By flood claims, April 2007 Nor'easter: 3 paid, $58K.
Is Dracut at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Dracut’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dracut.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dracut’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.