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R6E Kona Fountain widePhoto: SatyrTN · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Center Harbor · FEMA

FEMA puts Center Harbor’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 65% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Center Harbor gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2008.

River and rain flooding 87%Hurricanes 7%Earthquakes 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 65%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 65% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
87% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2008 · $18K
Disasters paid out here
6
of 23 declared for Belknap County
By hazard

What Center Harbor 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

87%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Ice storms Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Wildfire Landslides top 5% Lightning 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 Center Harbor’s grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Center Harbor, and Center Harbor’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Center Harbor sits
Center Harbor
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Hurricanes7%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $444K a year in losses across Center Harbor: $374K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Center Harbor’s 1,040 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with New Hampton town (2,377 residents) and New Hampton CDP (373 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 Center Harbor flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2008

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Center Harbor, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2008: 1 claim2009: 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 claims2008
20082026
1
paid claims since 2008
$18K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$18K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Center Harbor 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

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Center Harbor

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

  1. 2017Severe Winter Storm$12K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs
  3. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$3K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs
  4. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$5K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$6K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs
  6. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$5K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Center HarborBelknap 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 Center Harbor after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Center Harbor archive →
Next door

Center Harbor and its neighbors

Center Harbor is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

New Hampton: hazard risk C+Meredith: hazard risk B+Holderness: hazard risk CMoultonborough: hazard risk C+New HamptonMeredithHoldernessMoultonboroughCenter Harbor
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MeredithB+less damage than 66%river and rain flooding5
MoultonboroughC+more damage than 58%river and rain flooding3
New HamptonC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding13
Center HarborC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding1
HoldernessCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding75

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 Center Harbor 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 Center Harbor

Is Center Harbor at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Center Harbor has higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and hurricanes (7%). 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 Center Harbor flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Center Harbor since 2008, $18K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Center Harbor 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 Center Harbor?

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

By FEMA money that reached Center Harbor, Severe Winter Storm (2017): $12K to the Town of Center Harbor for repairs.

Is Center Harbor at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Center Harbor’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Center Harbor.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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