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AndoverNH TownHallAndLibraryPhoto: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Andover · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Andover faces more hazard damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Andover gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2006.

River and rain flooding 88%Hurricanes 6%Ice storms 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 73%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 73% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 2006 · $58K
Disasters paid out here
11
of 24 declared for Merrimack County
By hazard

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

88%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 16 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms Earthquakes Tornadoes Lightning top 1% Strong wind Winter storms Wildfire Landslides top 4% Hail 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 Andover’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Andover, and Andover’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Andover sits
Andover
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Hurricanes6%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $860K a year in losses across Andover: $763K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Andover’s 2,406 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Salisbury town (1,422 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 Andover flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2006

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Andover, from FEMA’s records: 2.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 54% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2006: 2 claims2007: 1 claim2008: 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 claims20062007
20062026
3
paid claims since 2006
$58K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$19K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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: Merrimack County.
Disasters

11 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.

  1. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$129K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$13K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  4. 2008Severe Winter Storm$15K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$197K to the Town of Andover for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  6. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding12 households applied for aid$18K aid approved$162K to the Town of Andover for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
Show all 11
  1. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$9K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  2. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$7K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  4. 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Andover for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$7K to the Town of Andover for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AndoverMerrimack County only

Merrimack County has had 24 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.

Were you here?

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 →
Next door

Andover and its neighbors

Andover is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Salisbury: hazard risk CFranklin: hazard risk CWilmot: hazard risk DSalisburyFranklinWilmotAndover
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SalisburyCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding3
AndoverCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding3
FranklinCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding6
WilmotDmore damage than 86%river and rain flooding—

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 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.

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 Andover

Is Andover at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Andover has higher expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and hurricanes (6%). 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 Andover flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Andover since 2006, $58K in all, or 2.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 54% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

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 Merrimack County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% 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 Storms and Flooding (2007): 5 households applied for aid, $1K approved, and $197K to the Town of Andover for repairs.

Is Andover at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Andover’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Andover.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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.