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Cheshire-Stoddard-NHPhoto: Andrew Sawyer · CC BY 2.5
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Stoddard · FEMA

FEMA puts Stoddard’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stoddard gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2023.

River and rain flooding 86%Hurricanes 8%Tornadoes 2%

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 67%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C
in New Hampshire · higher than 67% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2023 · $64K
Disasters paid out here
4
of 27 declared for Cheshire County
By hazard

What Stoddard 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

86%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Landslides top 3% Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire 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 Stoddard’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Stoddard, and Stoddard’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Stoddard sits
Stoddard
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hurricanes8%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $437K a year in losses across Stoddard: $364K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Stoddard’s 1,374 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Sullivan town (658 residents) and Nelson town (629 residents) and Roxbury town (220 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 Stoddard flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2023

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Stoddard, 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
2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2023
20232026
1
paid claims since 2023
$64K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$64K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Cheshire County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Stoddard

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$60K to the Town of Stoddard for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2012Severe Storm and Flooding$28K to the Town of Stoddard for repairs
  3. 2008Severe Winter Storm$31K to the Town of Stoddard for repairs
  4. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding8 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$40K to the Town of Stoddard for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in StoddardCheshire County only

Cheshire County has had 27 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.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Cheshire County, 2016–2016.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Stoddard archive →
Next door

Stoddard and its neighbors

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

Nelson: not gradedWindsor: not gradedSullivan: not gradedAntrim: hazard risk B−Washington: hazard risk CNelsonWindsorSullivanAntrimWashingtonStoddard
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
AntrimB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding1
WashingtonCmore damage than 67%river and rain flooding2
StoddardCmore damage than 67%river and rain flooding1
Nelson—648 residents; we grade 1,000+
Windsor—254 residents; we grade 1,000+
Sullivan—687 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 Stoddard 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
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 Stoddard

Is Stoddard at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stoddard has higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (8%). 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 Stoddard flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Stoddard since 2023, $64K in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Stoddard 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 Cheshire County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Stoddard?

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

By FEMA money that reached Stoddard, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $60K to the Town of Stoddard for repairs.

Is Stoddard at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Stoddard’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stoddard.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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