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Hampden Town House, MAPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hampden · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Hampden 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, Hampden gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #253 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%), then hurricanes (14%). Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 79%Hurricanes 14%Tornadoes 3%

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 56%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#253 of 283 in Massachusetts
Hazard risk
C+#253 of 283
in Massachusetts · higher than 56% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
79% of expected building damage
Flood claims
17
paid since 1979 · $473K
Flooded more than once
2
properties
Disasters paid out here
8
of 18 declared for Hampden County
By hazard

What Hampden 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

79%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

14%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Hail Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 Hampden’s grade

River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hampden, and Hampden’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Hampden sits
Hampden
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ #253 of 283 in Massachusetts; higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding79%Hurricanes14%Everything else7%

The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Hampden has more expected damage per building than 89% of Massachusetts towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Hampden: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Hampden’s 4,966 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Hampden flood? Sometimes: 17 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hampden, from FEMA’s records: 8.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 2 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 2 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 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: 1 claim2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 7 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 3 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197920052008
19792026
17
paid claims since 1979
$473K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$28K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Hampden 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.
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hampden

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

  1. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$24K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$225K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
  3. 2011Severe Storms and Tornadoes16 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  4. 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$16K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
  5. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding28 households applied for aid$48K aid approved$38K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
  6. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$9K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Hampden for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in HampdenHampden County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Hampden after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Hampden archive →
Next door

Hampden and its neighbors

Hampden is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Wilbraham: hazard risk BMonson: hazard risk B−WilbrahamMonsonHampden
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WilbrahamBless damage than 61%river and rain flooding5
MonsonB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding4
HampdenC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding17

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 Hampden 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
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 Hampden

Is Hampden at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hampden has higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #253 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and hurricanes (14%). 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 Hampden flood?

Flood insurance has paid 17 claims in Hampden since 1979, $473K in all, or 8.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Hampden 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 Hampden?

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

By FEMA money that reached Hampden, Severe Storm and Snowstorm (2011): $225K to the Town of Hampden for repairs.

Is Hampden at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Hampden’s rate for it is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hampden.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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