Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Orange than in 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Orange gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, #272 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Orange 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 Orange’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Orange, and Orange’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #272 of 283 in Massachusetts; higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Orange’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Orange has more expected damage per building than 96% of Massachusetts towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.1M a year in losses across Orange: $2.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Orange flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Orange. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Orange 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 Orange
Disasters that paid out in Orange itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Orange), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$29K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$108K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene2 households applied for aid$21K aid approved$25K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$100K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$38K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$33K to the Town of Orange for repairs
Show all 9
- 2003Snow$24K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2003Snow$16K to the Town of Orange for repairs
- 2001Snow$32K to the Town of Orange 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 Orange after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Orange archive →Orange and its neighbors
Orange is 4th of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Salem | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Erving | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Royalston | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Orange | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Athol | C−more damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Wendell | — | 850 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Warwick | — | 776 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 Orange 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 Orange
Is Orange at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Orange has higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #272 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Orange 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 Orange?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Orange’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 Orange?
By FEMA money that reached Orange, Severe Storm and Snowstorm (2011): $108K to the Town of Orange for repairs.
Is Orange at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Orange’s rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Orange.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Orange’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.