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Sunapee NH 5-22-26Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Sunapee · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Sunapee as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sunapee gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns, #67 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2006.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 4%Earthquakes 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 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#67 of 126 in New Hampshire
Hazard risk
C+#67 of 126
in New Hampshire · higher than 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
4
paid since 2006 · $55K
Disasters paid out here
12
of 27 declared for Sullivan County
By hazard

What Sunapee 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

90%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% 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 Lightning Wildfire Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 Sunapee’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sunapee, and Sunapee’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sunapee sits
Sunapee
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ #67 of 126 in New Hampshire; higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding90%Hurricanes4%Everything else6%

The typical New Hampshire town has higher expected damage than 58% of U.S. towns; within the state, Sunapee has more expected damage per building than 53% of New Hampshire towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Sunapee: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sunapee’s 3,342 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Sunapee flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2006

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sunapee, from FEMA’s records: 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2006: 1 claim2007: 1 claim2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 1 claim2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200620072014
20062026
4
paid claims since 2006
$55K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$14K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Sunapee 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 Sunapee

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$275K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$48K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  3. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$59K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  4. 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$104K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  5. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$15K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  6. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$16K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
Show all 12
  1. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$68K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$532 aid approved$8K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  3. 2005Record Snow$11K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  4. 2005Record Snow$11K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  5. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$9K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$15K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SunapeeSullivan 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 Sunapee after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Sunapee archive →
Next door

Sunapee and its neighbors

Sunapee is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

New London: hazard risk A−Newbury: hazard risk C+Goshen: not gradedCroydon: not gradedSpringfield: hazard risk CNew LondonNewburyGoshenCroydonSpringfieldSunapee
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
New LondonA−less damage than 85%river and rain flooding1
SunapeeC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding4
NewburyC+more damage than 63%river and rain flooding1
SpringfieldCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding—
Goshen—not graded yet
Croydon—798 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 Sunapee 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 Sunapee

Is Sunapee at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sunapee has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #67 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Sunapee flood?

Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Sunapee since 2006, $55K in all, or 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Sunapee 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 Sunapee?

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

By FEMA money that reached Sunapee, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $275K to the Town of Sunapee for repairs.

Is Sunapee at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Sunapee’s rate for it is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sunapee.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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