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Barnstead Parade Cong ChurchPhoto: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Barnstead · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Barnstead than in 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Barnstead gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, #79 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%), then hurricanes (13%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1998.

River and rain flooding 80%Hurricanes 13%Ice storms 4%

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 68%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#79 of 126 in New Hampshire
Hazard risk
C#79 of 126
in New Hampshire · higher than 68% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
80% of expected building damage
Flood claims
5
paid since 1998 · $61K
Flooded more than once
1
properties · 1 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
18
of 23 declared for Belknap County
By hazard

What Barnstead 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

80%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

13%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms top 4% Earthquakes Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts lightning at 10% of Barnstead’s expected losses. Lightning does little damage to buildings (0.1%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Barnstead’s grade

River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Barnstead, and Barnstead’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Barnstead sits
Barnstead
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C #79 of 126 in New Hampshire; higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding80%Hurricanes13%Ice storms4%Everything else4%

The typical New Hampshire town has higher expected damage than 58% of U.S. towns; within the state, Barnstead has more expected damage per building than 62% of New Hampshire towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Barnstead: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Barnstead’s 4,915 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Barnstead flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1998

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Barnstead, from FEMA’s records: 2.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 60% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1998: 1 claim1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 1 claim2006: 1 claim2007: 1 claim2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 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 claims199820052006
19982026
Biggest named events
  • The March 2010 nor’easter1 claim · $10K
5
paid claims since 1998
$61K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$12K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1)Flooded 2+ times
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Belknap County.
Disasters

18 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Barnstead

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$514K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  2. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$155K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  3. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$36K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Winter Storm$4K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  5. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$19K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  6. 2012Hurricane Sandy$3K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
Show all 18
  1. 2012Hurricane Sandy$11K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$13K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  3. 2008Severe Winter Storm$43K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  4. 2008Severe Storms, Tornado, and Flooding$124K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$27K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  6. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding10 households applied for aid$12K aid approved$668K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  7. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$272 aid approved$93K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  8. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$55K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  9. 2005Hurricane Dennis$13K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  10. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$10K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  11. 2004Hurricane Ivan$4K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
  12. 2003Snow$15K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BarnsteadBelknap County only

Belknap County has had 23 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 Barnstead after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Barnstead archive →
Next door

Barnstead and its neighbors

Barnstead is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Gilmanton: hazard risk B−Alton: hazard risk C+Pittsfield: hazard risk CStrafford: hazard risk BFarmington: hazard risk C−GilmantonAltonPittsfieldStraffordFarmingtonBarnstead
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
StraffordBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding1
GilmantonB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding1
AltonC+more damage than 55%river and rain flooding4
BarnsteadCmore damage than 68%river and rain flooding5
PittsfieldCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding7
FarmingtonC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding8

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 Barnstead 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 Barnstead

Is Barnstead at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Barnstead has higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #79 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and hurricanes (13%). 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 Barnstead flood?

Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Barnstead since 1998, $61K in all, or 2.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 60% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from March 2010 Nor'easter (1).

Is Barnstead 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 Belknap County, 0.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Barnstead?

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

By FEMA money that reached Barnstead, Severe Storms and Flooding (2007): 10 households applied for aid, $12K approved, and $668K to the Town of Barnstead for repairs. By flood claims, March 2010 Nor'easter: 1 paid, $10K.

Is Barnstead at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Barnstead’s rate for it is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Barnstead.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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