Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Marlborough faces more hazard damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Marlborough gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Marlborough 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 Marlborough’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Marlborough, and Marlborough’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Marlborough’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $735K a year in losses across Marlborough: $608K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Marlborough flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Marlborough. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Marlborough is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Cheshire County.The storms Marlborough remembers
None of the 27 disasters declared for Cheshire County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Marlborough itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Cheshire County has had 27 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Cheshire County, 2016–2016.
Marlborough and its neighbors
Marlborough is 6th of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Harrisville | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Jaffrey | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Keene | Cmore damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 122 |
| Troy | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Marlborough | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Swanzey | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Roxbury | — | 299 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Marlborough 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.
- Marlborough residents get 10% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Marlborough
Is Marlborough at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Marlborough has higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) 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.
Is Marlborough 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 Cheshire County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Marlborough?
Marlborough is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8), which takes 10% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Marlborough at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Marlborough’s rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Marlborough.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Marlborough’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.