Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0FEMA puts Dunstable’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dunstable gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns, #90 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then hurricanes (10%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Dunstable 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 Dunstable’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dunstable, and Dunstable’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #90 of 283 in Massachusetts; lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Dunstable’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Dunstable has less expected damage per building than 68% of Massachusetts towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $991K a year in losses across Dunstable: $666K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dunstable flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dunstable. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dunstable 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.12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dunstable
Disasters that paid out in Dunstable itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Dunstable), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$30K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$45K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$28K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$48K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$16K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding9 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$33K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
Show all 12
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$67K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$382 aid approved$12K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$21K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
- 2001Snow$14K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs
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 Dunstable after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dunstable archive →Dunstable and its neighbors
Dunstable has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunstable | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Groton | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Pepperell | A−less damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Tyngsborough | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 25 |
| Nashua | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 40 |
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 Dunstable 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 Dunstable
Is Dunstable at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dunstable has lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #90 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and hurricanes (10%). 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.
Is Dunstable 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 Dunstable?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dunstable’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 Dunstable?
By FEMA money that reached Dunstable, Severe Winter Storm and Flooding (2008): $67K to the Town of Dunstable for repairs.
Is Dunstable at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Dunstable’s rate for it is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dunstable.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dunstable’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.