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Plainfield Town HallPhoto: Bill Marrs · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Plainfield · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Plainfield than in 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Plainfield gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns, #88 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2013.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 4%Earthquakes 1%

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

more than 71%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#88 of 126 in New Hampshire
Hazard risk
C#88 of 126
in New Hampshire · higher than 71% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2013 · $46K
Disasters paid out here
12
of 27 declared for Sullivan County
By hazard

What Plainfield 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

92%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Ice storms Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Wildfire Landslides top 3% Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Plainfield’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Plainfield, and Plainfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Plainfield sits
Plainfield
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C #88 of 126 in New Hampshire; higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Plainfield’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes4%Everything else4%

The typical New Hampshire town has higher expected damage than 58% of U.S. towns; within the state, Plainfield has more expected damage per building than 70% of New Hampshire towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $758K a year in losses across Plainfield: $616K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Plainfield’s 2,459 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Cornish town (1,616 residents) and Plainfield CDP (178 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Plainfield flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2013

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Plainfield, from FEMA’s records: 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2013: 1 claim2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2013
20132026
1
paid claims since 2013
$46K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$46K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Plainfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Sullivan County.
Disasters

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Plainfield

Disasters that paid out in Plainfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Plainfield), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$62K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  2. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$20K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  3. 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$61K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  4. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$10K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$41K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  6. 2010Severe Winter Storm$6K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
Show all 12
  1. 2008Severe Winter Storm$15K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  2. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$47K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  3. 2005Record Snow$6K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  4. 2005Record Snow$12K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  5. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$7K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$8K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PlainfieldSullivan County only

Sullivan County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Plainfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Plainfield archive →
Next door

Plainfield and its neighbors

Plainfield is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Hartland: hazard risk B+Cornish: hazard risk CNorth Hartland: not gradedGrantham: hazard risk CLebanon: hazard risk C−HartlandCornishNorth HartlandGranthamLebanonPlainfield
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HartlandB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding2
CornishCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding—
PlainfieldCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding1
GranthamCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding4
LebanonC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding22
North Hartland—322 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Plainfield faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Plainfield

Is Plainfield at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Plainfield has higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #88 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Plainfield flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Plainfield since 2013, $46K in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Plainfield 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 Sullivan County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Plainfield?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Plainfield’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 Plainfield?

By FEMA money that reached Plainfield, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $62K to the Town of Plainfield for repairs.

Is Plainfield at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Plainfield’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Plainfield.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Plainfield’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.