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NewBraintree-MAPhoto: Richard B. Johnson · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in New Braintree · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, New Braintree faces less hazard damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Braintree gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (71%), then hurricanes (19%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 71%Hurricanes 19%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 65%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 65% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
71% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
11
of 27 declared for Worcester County

What stands out about New Braintree’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 65% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Landslides: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for landslides here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 0.6% of the damage it expects.
By hazard

What New Braintree 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

71%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

19%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Landslides top 2% Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 12% of New Braintree’s expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 New Braintree’s grade

River and rain flooding is 71% of the building damage FEMA expects in New Braintree, and New Braintree’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where New Braintree sits
New Braintree
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding71%Hurricanes19%Tornadoes3%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $227K a year in losses across New Braintree: $156K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of New Braintree’s 996 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Hardwick town (2,667 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 New Braintree flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in New Braintree. 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

New Braintree 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 New Braintree

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

  1. 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$16K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  2. 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$18K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  3. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$19K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  4. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$39K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  5. 2011Hurricane Irene$10K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$67K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
Show all 11
  1. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$10K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  2. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$10K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$7K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  4. 2003Snow$8K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$10K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in New BraintreeWorcester 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 New Braintree after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the New Braintree archive →
Next door

New Braintree and its neighbors

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

Hardwick: hazard risk BWest Brookfield: hazard risk CNorth Brookfield: hazard risk BHardwickWest BrookfieldNorth BrookfieldNew Braintree
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HardwickBless damage than 65%river and rain flooding—
New BraintreeBless damage than 65%river and rain flooding0
North BrookfieldBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding2
West BrookfieldCmore damage than 67%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 New Braintree 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 New Braintree

Is New Braintree at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Braintree has lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (71%) and hurricanes (19%). 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 New Braintree 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 New Braintree?

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

By FEMA money that reached New Braintree, Severe Winter Storm and Flooding (2008): $67K to the Town of New Braintree for repairs.

Is New Braintree at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (71%), and New Braintree’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in New Braintree.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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