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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Westmoreland · FEMA

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

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Westmoreland gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2012.

River and rain flooding 85%Hurricanes 6%Tornadoes 3%

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 51%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in New Hampshire · higher than 51% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
85% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2012 · $75K
Disasters paid out here
13
of 27 declared for Cheshire County
By hazard

What Westmoreland 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

85%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 16 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Landslides top 3% 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 Westmoreland’s grade

River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Westmoreland, and Westmoreland’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Westmoreland sits
Westmoreland
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding85%Hurricanes6%Tornadoes3%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $480K a year in losses across Westmoreland: $384K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Westmoreland’s 1,706 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Chesterfield town (3,552 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 Westmoreland flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2012

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Westmoreland, from FEMA’s records: 2.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 60% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2012: 1 claim2013: 1 claim2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20122013
20122026
2
paid claims since 2012
$75K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$37K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Westmoreland 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

13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Westmoreland

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$16K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$466K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  3. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  4. 2012Severe Storm and Flooding$49K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  5. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding7 households applied for aid$15K aid approved$41K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  6. 2005Record Snow$6K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
Show all 13
  1. 2005Record Snow$5K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  2. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$7K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  4. 2003Severe Storms and Flooding$584K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  6. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
  7. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$18K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WestmorelandCheshire 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 Westmoreland after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Westmoreland archive →
Next door

Westmoreland and its neighbors

Westmoreland is 4th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Putney: hazard risk B+Dummerston: hazard risk B−Surry: not gradedWalpole: hazard risk C+Chesterfield: hazard risk B−Keene: hazard risk CWestminster: hazard risk BPutneyDummerstonSurryWalpoleChesterfieldKeeneWestminsterWestmoreland
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
PutneyB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding—
WestminsterBless damage than 63%river and rain flooding6
ChesterfieldB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding6
WestmorelandB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding2
DummerstonB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding—
WalpoleC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding—
KeeneCmore damage than 75%river and rain flooding122
Surry—not graded yet

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 Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland

Is Westmoreland at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Westmoreland has higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and hurricanes (6%). 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 Westmoreland flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Westmoreland since 2012, $75K in all, or 2.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 60% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland?

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

By FEMA money that reached Westmoreland, Severe Storms and Flooding (2003): $584K to the Town of Westmoreland for repairs.

Is Westmoreland at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Westmoreland’s rate for it is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Westmoreland.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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