Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hinsdale

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Hinsdale - Ashmere LakePhoto: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hinsdale · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Hinsdale faces less hazard damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hinsdale gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%), then hurricanes (10%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1991.

River and rain flooding 82%Hurricanes 10%Tornadoes 4%

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

less than 69%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Massachusetts · lower than 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1991 · $2K
Disasters paid out here
10
of 17 declared for Berkshire County
By hazard

What Hinsdale 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

82%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Winter storms Hail Lightning Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 Hinsdale’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hinsdale, and Hinsdale’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 10% (higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Hinsdale sits
Hinsdale
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Hurricanes10%Tornadoes4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $478K a year in losses across Hinsdale: $401K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Hinsdale’s 1,919 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 Hinsdale flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1991

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hinsdale, from FEMA’s records: 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 80% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1991: 1 claim1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 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 claims1991
19912026
Biggest named events
  • The “Halloween” storm1 claim · $2K
1
paid claims since 1991
$2K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$2K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Hinsdale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Berkshire County.
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hinsdale

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

  1. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$12K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene8 households applied for aid$5K aid approved$408K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  4. 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$17K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$15K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  6. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$8K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$5K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$8K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
  4. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in HinsdaleBerkshire County only

Berkshire County has had 17 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 Hinsdale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Hinsdale archive →
Next door

Hinsdale and its neighbors

Hinsdale has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Peru: not gradedDalton: hazard risk CWashington: not gradedPeruDaltonWashingtonHinsdale
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HinsdaleB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding1
DaltonCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding10
Peru—630 residents; we grade 1,000+
Washington—526 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 Hinsdale 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 Hinsdale

Is Hinsdale at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hinsdale has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) 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.

Does Hinsdale flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Hinsdale since 1991, $2K in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 80% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from The "Halloween" Storm (1).

Is Hinsdale 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 Berkshire County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Hinsdale?

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

By FEMA money that reached Hinsdale, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 8 households applied for aid, $5K approved, and $408K to the Town of Hinsdale for repairs. By flood claims, The "Halloween" Storm: 1 paid, $2K.

Is Hinsdale at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Hinsdale’s rate for it is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hinsdale.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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