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WebsterNH OldMeetingHousePhoto: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Webster · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Webster than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Webster gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 5%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 82%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 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
12
of 24 declared for Merrimack County
By hazard

What Webster 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
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

5%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Ice storms Tornadoes Lightning top 1% Strong wind Winter storms Landslides top 3% 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 Webster’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Webster, and Webster’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Webster sits
Webster
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding90%Hurricanes5%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $848K a year in losses across Webster: $768K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Webster’s 1,913 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Warner town (2,937 residents) and Warner CDP (453 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 Webster flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Webster. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Webster 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.
Disasters

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Webster

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

  1. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$5K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$10K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  3. 2012Hurricane Sandy$7K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$6K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  5. 2010Severe Winter Storm$8K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Winter Storm$30K to the Town of Webster for repairs
Show all 12
  1. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$636 aid approved$62K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  2. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding8 households applied for aid$7K aid approved$27K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  3. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$13K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  4. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$4K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$2K to the Town of Webster for repairs
  6. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Webster for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WebsterMerrimack County only

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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Webster archive →
Next door

Webster and its neighbors

Webster is 5th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Boscawen: hazard risk C+Warner: hazard risk C−Salisbury: hazard risk CHopkinton: hazard risk CBoscawenWarnerSalisburyHopkintonWebster
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BoscawenC+more damage than 61%river and rain flooding2
SalisburyCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding3
HopkintonCmore damage than 75%river and rain flooding3
WarnerC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding6
WebsterC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding0

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 Webster 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 Webster

Is Webster at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Webster has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%) 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 Webster 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 Webster?

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

By FEMA money that reached Webster, Severe Storms and Flooding (2007): 3 households applied for aid, $636 approved, and $62K to the Town of Webster for repairs.

Is Webster at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Webster’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Webster.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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