Truro Highlands Historic District · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Truro than in 70% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Truro gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (41%), then hurricanes (31%). Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1983.
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 stands out about Truro’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Truro 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
Coastal flooding
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 Truro’s grade
River and rain flooding is 41% of the building damage FEMA expects in Truro, and Truro’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 91% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 23%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Truro’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Truro: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Truro flood? Sometimes: 23 flood claims since 1983
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Truro, from FEMA’s records: 6.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Sandy1 claim · $8K
Truro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Barnstable County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Truro
Disasters that paid out in Truro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Truro), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$3K to the Town of Truro for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
- 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$18K to the Town of Truro for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$12K to the Town of Truro for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$7K to the Town of Truro for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $8K
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$4K to the Town of Truro for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$15K to the Town of Truro for repairs
Show all 8
- 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Truro for repairs
- 2003Snow$8K to the Town of Truro for repairs
Barnstable County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Truro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Truro archive →Truro and its neighbors
Truro has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truro | B+less damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 23 |
| Provincetown | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 214 |
| Wellfleet | B−more damage than 52% | coastal flooding | 29 |
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 Truro 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.
- 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.
- 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 Truro
Is Truro at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Truro has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (41%) and hurricanes (31%). 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 Truro flood?
Flood insurance has paid 23 claims in Truro since 1983, $472K in all, or 6.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (1).
Is Truro 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 Barnstable County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Truro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Truro’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 Truro?
By FEMA money that reached Truro, Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding (2015): $18K to the Town of Truro for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 1 paid, $8K.
Is Truro at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (41%), and Truro’s rate for it is lower than 91% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Truro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Truro’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.