Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Salisbury faces more hazard damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salisbury gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2006.
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 Salisbury 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 Salisbury’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salisbury, and Salisbury’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Salisbury’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $509K a year in losses across Salisbury: $451K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Salisbury flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2006
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Salisbury, from FEMA’s records: 4.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 55% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Salisbury isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Merrimack County.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Salisbury
Disasters that paid out in Salisbury itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Salisbury), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$4K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$2K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$30K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$28K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$34K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
Show all 11
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$23K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$2K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2003Snow$4K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
- 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
Merrimack County has had 24 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 Salisbury after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Salisbury archive →Salisbury and its neighbors
Salisbury is 3rd of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boscawen | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Andover | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Salisbury | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Franklin | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Warner | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Webster | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Salisbury 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 Salisbury
Is Salisbury at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salisbury has higher expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) 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 Salisbury flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Salisbury since 2006, $58K in all, or 4.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 55% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Salisbury 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 Merrimack County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Salisbury?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Salisbury’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 Salisbury?
By FEMA money that reached Salisbury, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): 5 households applied for aid, $2K approved, and $34K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs.
Is Salisbury at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Salisbury’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salisbury.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Salisbury’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.