Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Mattapoisett Center
Mattapoisett Center isn’t graded for hazard risk: Mattapoisett Center is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 366 claims here since 1978.
What Mattapoisett Center 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
Coastal 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.
Does Mattapoisett Center flood? Yes: 366 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mattapoisett Center, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Bob282 claims · $6.2M
- Hurricane Sandy3 claims · $27K
Mattapoisett Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Plymouth County.The storms Mattapoisett Center remembers
None of the 25 disasters declared for Plymouth County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mattapoisett Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 1991285 flood claims paidThe year of Coastal Storm, declared for Plymouth County
- 197831 flood claims paidThe year of Coastal Storms, Flood, Ice and Snow, declared for Plymouth County
- 19876 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Plymouth County has had 25 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Mattapoisett Center after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mattapoisett Center archive →Mattapoisett Center and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | A−less damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | 136 |
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 Mattapoisett Center 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Mattapoisett Center
Does Mattapoisett Center flood?
Flood insurance has paid 366 claims in Mattapoisett Center since 1978, $6.7M in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Bob (282).
Is Mattapoisett Center 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 Plymouth County, 52% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Mattapoisett Center?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mattapoisett Center’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 Mattapoisett Center?
By flood claims, Hurricane Bob: 282 paid, $6.2M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mattapoisett Center.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mattapoisett Center’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.