Photo: User:Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Walpole as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Walpole gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns, #62 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 Walpole 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 Walpole’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Walpole, and Walpole’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 5% (higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts).
C+ #62 of 126 in New Hampshire; higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Walpole’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, Walpole has less expected damage per building than 51% of New Hampshire towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Walpole: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Walpole flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Walpole. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Walpole 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.14 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Walpole
Disasters that paid out in Walpole itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Walpole), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$406K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$88K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$24K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2012Severe Storm and Flooding$33K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm$34K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding13 households applied for aid$57K aid approved$460K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
Show all 14
- 2005Record Snow$13K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2005Record Snow$10K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms and Flooding$9K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 2001Snow$7K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
- 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$9K to the Town of Walpole for repairs
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.
Old photos of Walpole after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Walpole archive →Walpole and its neighbors
Walpole 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Westmoreland | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Walpole | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Rockingham | Cmore damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Alstead | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Bellows Falls | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Westminster | — | 497 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Langdon | — | 805 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.
Get ready for what Walpole 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 Walpole
Is Walpole at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Walpole has higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #62 of 126 in New Hampshire. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and hurricanes (5%). 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 Walpole 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 Walpole?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Walpole’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 Walpole?
By FEMA money that reached Walpole, Severe Storms and Flooding (2005): 13 households applied for aid, $57K approved, and $460K to the Town of Walpole for repairs.
Is Walpole at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Walpole’s rate for it is higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Walpole.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Walpole’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.