Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainFEMA puts Newton’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Newton gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns, #4 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%). 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 Newton 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
Earthquakes
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 Newton’s grade
River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Newton, and Newton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
A #4 of 126 in New Hampshire; lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Newton’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, Newton has less expected damage per building than 98% of New Hampshire towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $893K a year in losses across Newton: $724K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Newton flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Newton. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Newton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rockingham County.18 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Newton
Disasters that paid out in Newton itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Newton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$106K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$251K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$32K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$30K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$22K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$15K to the Town of Newton for repairs
Show all 18
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$2K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$36K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$9K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$20K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$67K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$106K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornado, and Flooding$6K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$8K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding26 households applied for aid$41K aid approved$10K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Newton for repairs
- 2001Snow$7K to the Town of Newton for repairs
Rockingham County has had 29 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 Newton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Newton archive →Newton and its neighbors
Newton has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Merrimac | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Kingston | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Plaistow | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| East Kingston | B+less damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| South Hampton | — | 984 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 Newton 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Newton
Is Newton at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Newton has lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #4 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and hurricanes (9%). 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 Newton 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 Rockingham County, 37% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Newton?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Newton’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 Newton?
By FEMA money that reached Newton, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $251K to the Town of Newton for repairs.
Is Newton at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Newton’s rate for it is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Newton.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Newton’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.