Andover Hook and Ladder Company Building · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Andover
Andover isn’t graded for hazard risk: Andover has 679 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Andover 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.
Does Andover flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Andover. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Andover isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Oxford County.14 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Andover
Disasters that paid out in Andover itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Andover), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding22 households applied for aid$223K aid approved$2.9M to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$179K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$110K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$19K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding1 households applied for aid$533 aid approved
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$5K to the Town of Andover for repairs
Show all 14
- 2005Record Snow$5K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2005Snow$4K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2001Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2001Snow$12K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$40K to the Town of Andover for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$32K to the Town of Andover for repairs
Oxford County has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Andover after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Andover archive →Andover and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Andover 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 Andover
Is Andover 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 Oxford County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Andover?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Andover’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 Andover?
By FEMA money that reached Andover, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): 22 households applied for aid, $223K approved, and $2.9M to the Town of Andover for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Andover.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Andover’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.