Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Enfield

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Main Street Enfield NHPhoto: Ken Gallager at Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Enfield · FEMA

FEMA puts Enfield’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Enfield gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, #108 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2011.

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 82%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#108 of 126 in New Hampshire
By hazard

What Enfield 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

94%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Ice storms Winter storms Strong wind Tornadoes Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 Enfield’s grade

River and rain flooding is 94% of the building damage FEMA expects in Enfield, and Enfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Enfield sits
Enfield
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #108 of 126 in New Hampshire; higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding94%Hurricanes3%Everything else3%

The typical New Hampshire town has higher expected damage than 58% of U.S. towns; within the state, Enfield has more expected damage per building than 86% of New Hampshire towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Enfield: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Enfield’s 4,465 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Enfield CDP (1,571 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 Enfield flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Enfield, from FEMA’s records: 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 75% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims201120182023
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene1 claim · $30K
3
paid claims since 2011
$78K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$26K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Grafton County.
Disasters

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Enfield

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$54K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$65K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  3. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$17K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  4. 2019Severe Storm and Flooding$101K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  5. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$7K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  6. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$64K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
Show all 12
  1. 2012Hurricane Sandy$5K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Irene11 households applied for aid$17K aid approved$320K to the Town of Enfield for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $30K
  3. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$2K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  4. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$27K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
  6. 2001Snow$13K to the Town of Enfield for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in EnfieldGrafton County only

Grafton 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Enfield archive →
Next door

Enfield and its neighbors

Enfield is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
GranthamCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding4
LebanonC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding22
EnfieldC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding3
CanaanDmore damage than 86%river and rain flooding10
GraftonDmore damage than 88%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 Enfield 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 Enfield

Is Enfield at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Enfield has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #108 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). 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 Enfield flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Enfield since 2011, $78K in all, or 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 75% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (1).

Is Enfield 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 Grafton County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Enfield?

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

By FEMA money that reached Enfield, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 11 households applied for aid, $17K approved, and $320K to the Town of Enfield for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 1 paid, $30K.

Is Enfield at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (94%), and Enfield’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Enfield.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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