Photo: Chipstata · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Wentworth
Wentworth isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Wentworth yet. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1987.
What Wentworth 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
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.
Does Wentworth flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1987
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wentworth, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene1 claim · $8K
Wentworth isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grafton County.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wentworth
Disasters that paid out in Wentworth itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Wentworth), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$19K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$65K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$1.3M to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$103K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene5 households applied for aid$9K aid approved$73K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $8K
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$9K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
Show all 11
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$5K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2005Record Snow$2K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$1K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
- 2001Snow$3K to the Town of Wentworth for repairs
Grafton County has had 34 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.
Old photos of Wentworth after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wentworth archive →Wentworth and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rumney | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Orford | Dmore damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Dorchester | — | 410 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Piermont | — | 868 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Warren | — | 942 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Ellsworth | — | 51 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 Wentworth 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.
- 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 Wentworth
Does Wentworth flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Wentworth since 1987, $8K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (1).
Is Wentworth 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 Grafton County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wentworth?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wentworth’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 Wentworth?
By FEMA money that reached Wentworth, Severe Storm and Flooding (2017): $1.3M to the Town of Wentworth for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 1 paid, $8K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wentworth.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wentworth’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.