Photo: Bostonian13 · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Lee faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lee gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns, #45 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1996.
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 Lee 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
Earthquakes
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 Lee’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lee, and Lee’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #45 of 126 in New Hampshire; higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lee’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical New Hampshire town has higher expected damage than 58% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lee has less expected damage per building than 65% of New Hampshire towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Lee: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lee flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lee, from FEMA’s records: 6.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 66% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The March 2010 nor’easter3 claims · $31K
Lee isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Strafford County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lee
Disasters that paid out in Lee itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Lee), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$10K to the Town of Lee for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Lee for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of Lee for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$8K to the Town of Lee for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$4K to the Town of Lee for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$13K to the Town of Lee for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
Show all 10
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$6K to the Town of Lee for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding11 households applied for aid$19K aid approved$6K to the Town of Lee for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding38 households applied for aid$124K aid approved$23K to the Town of Lee for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Lee for repairs
Strafford County has had 20 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 Lee after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lee archive →Lee and its neighbors
Lee is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | B+less damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 11 |
| Madbury | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Lee | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Nottingham | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 13 |
| Newmarket | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 34 |
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 Lee 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Lee
Is Lee at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lee has higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #45 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and earthquakes (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 Lee flood?
Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Lee since 1996, $291K in all, or 6.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 66% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from March 2010 Nor'easter (3).
Is Lee 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 Strafford County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lee?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lee’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 Lee?
By FEMA money that reached Lee, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 38 households applied for aid, $124K approved, and $23K to the Town of Lee for repairs. By flood claims, March 2010 Nor'easter: 3 paid, $31K.
Is Lee at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Lee’s rate for it is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lee.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lee’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.