Photo: The original uploader was ColWilliam at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5On FEMA’s figures, New Salem faces less hazard damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Salem gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%), then hurricanes (11%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What New Salem 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
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.
What’s behind New Salem’s grade
River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in New Salem, and New Salem’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of New Salem’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $178K a year in losses across New Salem: $128K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does New Salem flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in New Salem. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
New Salem isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Franklin County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to New Salem
Disasters that paid out in New Salem itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of New Salem), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$7K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$2K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$66K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$2K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$5K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
Show all 9
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2003Snow$4K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
- 2001Snow$3K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
Franklin County has had 16 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.
Old photos of New Salem after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the New Salem archive →New Salem and its neighbors
New Salem is 5th of the 8 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petersham | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Belchertown | A−less damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Pelham | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Shutesbury | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| New Salem | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Ware | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Orange | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Athol | C−more damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Wendell | — | 850 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.
Get ready for what New Salem 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.
- 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 New Salem
Is New Salem at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Salem has lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and hurricanes (11%). 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 Salem 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 Franklin County, 0.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in New Salem?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for New Salem’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 Salem?
By FEMA money that reached New Salem, Severe Winter Storm and Flooding (2008): $66K to the Town of New Salem for repairs.
Is New Salem at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and New Salem’s rate for it is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in New Salem.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where New Salem’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.