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First Church MendonPhoto: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domain
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Mendon · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Mendon than in 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mendon gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, #118 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%), then hurricanes (32%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 59%Hurricanes 32%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

less than 80%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#118 of 283 in Massachusetts
Hazard risk
A−#118 of 283
in Massachusetts · lower than 80% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
59% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
11
of 27 declared for Worcester County
By hazard

What Mendon 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

59%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

32%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail 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 Mendon’s grade

River and rain flooding is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mendon, and Mendon’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mendon sits
Mendon
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− #118 of 283 in Massachusetts; lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding59%Hurricanes32%Everything else9%

The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Mendon has less expected damage per building than 59% of Massachusetts towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Mendon: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mendon’s 6,228 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 Mendon flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mendon. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Worcester County.
Disasters

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mendon

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

  1. 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$28K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$28K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  3. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$2K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  4. 2011Hurricane Irene$12K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  5. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding39 households applied for aid$49K aid approved
  6. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$157 aid approved$11K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
Show all 11
  1. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$24K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  2. 2004Flooding1 households applied for aid$367 aid approved
  3. 2003Snow$19K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  4. 2003Snow$17K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$15K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MendonWorcester County only

Worcester County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Mendon archive →
Next door

Mendon and its neighbors

Mendon is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Bellingham: hazard risk AHopedale: hazard risk B+Upton: hazard risk BBellinghamHopedaleUptonMendon
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BellinghamAless damage than 87%river and rain flooding15
MendonA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding0
HopedaleB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding1
UptonBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding2

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 Mendon 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 Mendon

Is Mendon at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mendon has lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #118 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%) and hurricanes (32%). 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 Mendon 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 Worcester County, 65% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Mendon?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mendon, Severe Storms and Flooding (2010): 39 households applied for aid, $49K approved.

Is Mendon at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Mendon’s rate for it is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mendon.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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