Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Middleton 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, Middleton gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Middleton 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 Middleton’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Middleton, and Middleton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Middleton’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $371K a year in losses across Middleton: $320K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Middleton flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2007
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Middleton, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 73% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Middleton 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.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Middleton
Disasters that paid out in Middleton itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Middleton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$17K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$7K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$44K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$84K to the Town of Middleton for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 9
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$9K aid approved$89K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Middleton for repairs
- 2001Snow$7K to the Town of Middleton 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 Middleton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Middleton archive →Middleton and its neighbors
Middleton is 2nd of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Middleton | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Wakefield | Cmore damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Brookfield | — | 567 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Union | — | 131 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 Middleton 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 Middleton
Is Middleton at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Middleton has lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (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 Middleton flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Middleton since 2007, $1K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 73% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Middleton 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 Middleton?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Middleton’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 Middleton?
By FEMA money that reached Middleton, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 5 households applied for aid, $9K approved, and $89K to the Town of Middleton for repairs.
Is Middleton at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Middleton’s rate for it is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Middleton.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Middleton’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.