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Mim's Market, Northfield MAPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Northfield · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Northfield than in 62% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Northfield gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, #203 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 83%Hurricanes 8%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 62%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#203 of 283 in Massachusetts
Hazard risk
B#203 of 283
in Massachusetts · lower than 62% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
9
of 16 declared for Franklin County
By hazard

What Northfield 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

83%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Lightning Wildfire Winter storms 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 Northfield’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Northfield, and Northfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Northfield sits
Northfield
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B #203 of 283 in Massachusetts; lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Hurricanes8%Tornadoes3%Everything else6%

The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Northfield has more expected damage per building than 72% of Massachusetts towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $957K a year in losses across Northfield: $742K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Northfield’s 2,866 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Northfield CDP (1,051 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 Northfield flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Northfield 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.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Northfield

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

  1. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$17K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$60K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene6 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$6K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  4. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$31K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  5. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$50K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  6. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$10K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2003Snow$11K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
  3. 2001Snow$6K to the Town of Northfield for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in NorthfieldFranklin County only

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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Northfield archive →
Next door

Northfield and its neighbors

Northfield has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Gill: hazard risk B−Erving: hazard risk B−GillErvingNorthfield
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
NorthfieldBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding0
GillB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding—
ErvingB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding—

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 Northfield 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 Northfield

Is Northfield at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Northfield has lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #203 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%) and hurricanes (8%). 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 Northfield 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 Northfield?

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

By FEMA money that reached Northfield, Severe Storm and Snowstorm (2011): $60K to the Town of Northfield for repairs.

Is Northfield at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Northfield’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Northfield.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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