Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Rollinsford faces less hazard damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rollinsford gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, #23 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%). 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 Rollinsford 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 Rollinsford’s grade
River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rollinsford, and Rollinsford’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B #23 of 126 in New Hampshire; lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Rollinsford’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, Rollinsford has less expected damage per building than 82% of New Hampshire towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $543K a year in losses across Rollinsford: $387K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Rollinsford flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rollinsford. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Rollinsford 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.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rollinsford
Disasters that paid out in Rollinsford itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Rollinsford), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$5K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$7K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$16K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$11K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs
Show all 7
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding12 households applied for aid$27K aid approved$13K to the Town of Rollinsford 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 Rollinsford after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rollinsford archive →Rollinsford and its neighbors
Rollinsford is 3rd 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somersworth | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| South Berwick | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 17 |
| Rollinsford | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Berwick | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Dover | B−less damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 32 |
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 Rollinsford 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 Rollinsford
Is Rollinsford at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rollinsford has lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #23 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and earthquakes (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 Rollinsford 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 Rollinsford?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rollinsford’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 Rollinsford?
By FEMA money that reached Rollinsford, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 12 households applied for aid, $27K approved, and $13K to the Town of Rollinsford for repairs.
Is Rollinsford at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Rollinsford’s rate for it is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rollinsford.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Rollinsford’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.