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Shedd-Porter Memorial Library, Alstead NHPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Alstead · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Alstead than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alstead gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1987.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 2%

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 74%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C
in New Hampshire · higher than 74% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
8
paid since 1987 · $347K
Disasters paid out here
13
of 27 declared for Cheshire County
By hazard

What Alstead 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

90%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Landslides top 3% 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 Alstead’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Alstead, and Alstead’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Alstead sits
Alstead
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding90%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $639K a year in losses across Alstead: $531K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Alstead’s 1,864 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Surry town (820 residents) and Gilsum town (752 residents) and Marlow town (749 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 Alstead flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1987

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Alstead, from FEMA’s records: 8.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1987: 1 claim1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 1 claim2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 6 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 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 claims198720002005
19872026
8
paid claims since 1987
$347K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$43K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Cheshire County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
26flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alstead

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$366K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  2. 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$398K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  3. 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$16K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  4. 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$69K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  5. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$6K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Winter Storm$40K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
Show all 13
  1. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding98 households applied for aid$372K aid approved$558K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  2. 2005Record Snow$9K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  3. 2005Record Snow$8K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  4. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$6K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
  7. 2001Snow$8K to the Town of Alstead for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AlsteadCheshire County only

Cheshire County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Cheshire County, 2016–2016.

Were you here?

Old photos of Alstead after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Alstead archive →
Next door

Alstead and its neighbors

Alstead is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Gilsum: not gradedMarlow: not gradedLangdon: not gradedWalpole: hazard risk C+Surry: not gradedAcworth: not gradedGilsumMarlowLangdonWalpoleSurryAcworthAlstead
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WalpoleC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding—
AlsteadCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding8
Gilsum—716 residents; we grade 1,000+
Marlow—855 residents; we grade 1,000+
Langdon—805 residents; we grade 1,000+
Surry—not graded yet
Acworth—851 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 Alstead 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 ↗
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 Alstead

Is Alstead at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alstead has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Alstead flood?

Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Alstead since 1987, $347K in all, or 8.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Alstead 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 Cheshire County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Alstead?

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

By FEMA money that reached Alstead, Severe Storms and Flooding (2005): 98 households applied for aid, $372K approved, and $558K to the Town of Alstead for repairs.

Is Alstead at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Alstead’s rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alstead.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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