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Otis-Benton PondPhoto: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Otis · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Otis faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Otis gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2005.

River and rain flooding 85%Hurricanes 10%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

more than 58%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Massachusetts · higher than 58% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
85% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 2005 · $32K
Disasters paid out here
11
of 17 declared for Berkshire County
By hazard

What Otis 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

85%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Landslides top 4% Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves
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 Otis’ grade

River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Otis, and Otis’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 10% (higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Otis sits
Otis
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding85%Hurricanes10%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $459K a year in losses across Otis: $388K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Otis’ 1,634 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Sandisfield town (989 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 Otis flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2005

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Otis, from FEMA’s records: 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 64% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2005: 1 claim2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 2 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20052011
20052026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene2 claims · $11K
3
paid claims since 2005
$32K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$11K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Berkshire County.
Disasters

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Otis

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

  1. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$11K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$5K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene7 households applied for aid$38K aid approved$158K to the Town of Otis for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $11K
  4. 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$12K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$147K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  6. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$77K to the Town of Otis for repairs
Show all 11
  1. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$27K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  2. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  4. 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Otis for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$8K to the Town of Otis for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in OtisBerkshire County only

Berkshire County has had 17 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 Otis after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Otis archive →
Next door

Otis and its neighbors

Otis is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Becket: hazard risk C+Tolland: not gradedSandisfield: not gradedTyringham: not gradedMonterey: hazard risk C+BecketTollandSandisfieldTyringhamMontereyOtis
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BecketC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding4
MontereyC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding17
OtisC+more damage than 58%river and rain flooding3
Tolland—540 residents; we grade 1,000+
Sandisfield—994 residents; we grade 1,000+
Tyringham—494 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Otis 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 Otis

Is Otis at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Otis has higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and hurricanes (10%). 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.

Does Otis flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Otis since 2005, $32K in all, or 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 64% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (2).

Is Otis 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 Berkshire County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Otis?

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

By FEMA money that reached Otis, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 7 households applied for aid, $38K approved, and $158K to the Town of Otis for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 2 paid, $11K.

Is Otis at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Otis’ rate for it is higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Otis.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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