Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Greenfield faces less hazard damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Greenfield gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%), then hurricanes (18%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2007.
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
What Greenfield 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
Hurricanes
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.
What’s behind Greenfield’s grade
River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Greenfield, and Greenfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Greenfield’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $326K a year in losses across Greenfield: $264K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Greenfield flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2007
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Greenfield, from FEMA’s records: 1.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Greenfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hillsborough County.14 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Greenfield
Disasters that paid out in Greenfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Greenfield), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$6K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$34K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding$61K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
Show all 14
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$5K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$99K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding Associated with Hurricane Gustav$106K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$6K aid approved$103K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$511 aid approved
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2005Record Snow$5K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$7K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs
Hillsborough County has had 26 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.
Old photos of Greenfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Greenfield archive →Greenfield and its neighbors
Greenfield has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Hancock | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Lyndeborough | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Francestown | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 11 |
| Bennington | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Peterborough | C−more damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 33 |
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.
Get ready for what Greenfield faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Greenfield
Is Greenfield at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Greenfield has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and hurricanes (18%). 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 Greenfield flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Greenfield since 2007, $4K in all, or 1.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Greenfield 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 Hillsborough County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Greenfield?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Greenfield’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 Greenfield?
By FEMA money that reached Greenfield, Severe Storms and Flooding (2007): 3 households applied for aid, $6K approved, and $103K to the Town of Greenfield for repairs.
Is Greenfield at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Greenfield’s rate for it is lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Greenfield.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Greenfield’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.