Photo: Myself · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Madbury 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, Madbury gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Madbury 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 Madbury’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Madbury, and Madbury’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− higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Madbury’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $514K a year in losses across Madbury: $443K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Madbury flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Madbury. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Madbury 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.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Madbury
Disasters that paid out in Madbury itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Madbury), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$21K to the Town of Madbury for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$12K to the Town of Madbury for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$20K to the Town of Madbury for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding6 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
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 Madbury after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Madbury archive →Madbury and its neighbors
Madbury is 4th 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 |
| Dover | B−less damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 32 |
| Lee | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Madbury | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Barrington | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
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 Madbury 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 Madbury
Is Madbury at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Madbury has higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. 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.
Is Madbury 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 Madbury?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Madbury’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 Madbury?
By FEMA money that reached Madbury, Severe Winter Storm (2010): $21K to the Town of Madbury for repairs.
Is Madbury at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Madbury’s rate for it is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Madbury.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Madbury’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.