Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Rowley’s building-damage rate from coastal flooding is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rowley gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns, #217 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%), then coastal flooding (27%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2017.
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 Rowley 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
Coastal flooding
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
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 Rowley’s grade
River and rain flooding is 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rowley, and Rowley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 27%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B #217 of 283 in Massachusetts; lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Rowley’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Massachusetts town has lower expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Rowley has more expected damage per building than 77% of Massachusetts towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Rowley: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Rowley flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2017
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rowley, from FEMA’s records: 0.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Rowley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Essex County.13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rowley
Disasters that paid out in Rowley itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Rowley), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$43K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$23K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$46K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$35K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$9K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$26K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
Show all 13
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding45 households applied for aid$109K aid approved$10K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding86 households applied for aid$177K aid approved$1.8M to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$18K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2004Flooding6 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2003Snow$23K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2003Snow$12K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
- 2001Snow$17K to the Town of Rowley for repairs
Essex County has had 32 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Rowley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rowley archive →Rowley and its neighbors
Rowley is 3rd 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Boxford | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Rowley | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Newbury | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 199 |
| Ipswich | B−more damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 30 |
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 Rowley 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Rowley
Is Rowley at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rowley has lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #217 of 283 in Massachusetts. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%) and coastal flooding (27%). 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 Rowley flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Rowley since 2017, $4K in all, or 0.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Rowley 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 Essex County, 58% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Rowley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rowley’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 Rowley?
By FEMA money that reached Rowley, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 86 households applied for aid, $177K approved, and $1.8M to the Town of Rowley for repairs.
Is Rowley at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and Rowley’s rate for it is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rowley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Rowley’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.