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Woodstock NHPhoto: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Woodstock · FEMA

FEMA puts Woodstock’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 95% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Woodstock gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 96%Hurricanes 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 95%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in New Hampshire · higher than 95% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
96% of expected building damage
Flood claims
8
paid since 2011 · $100K
Disasters paid out here
5
of 34 declared for Grafton County
By hazard

What Woodstock 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Ice storms Strong wind Winter storms Tornadoes Landslides top 2% Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Woodstock’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Woodstock, and Woodstock’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Woodstock sits
Woodstock
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Woodstock: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Woodstock’s 1,434 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Warren town (825 residents) and North Woodstock CDP (739 residents) and Benton town (374 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 Woodstock flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Woodstock, from FEMA’s records: 5.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 64% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 7 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20112023
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene6 claims · $87K
  • The December nor’easter1 claim · $809
8
paid claims since 2011
$100K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$13K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Woodstock 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.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Woodstock

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

  1. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$16K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  2. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$15K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene3 households applied for aid$13K aid approved$62K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs6 flood claims paid for it, $87K
  4. 2010Severe Winter Storm$2K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WoodstockGrafton County only

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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Woodstock archive →
Next door

Woodstock and its neighbors

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

Benton: not gradedThornton: hazard risk DBentonThorntonWoodstock
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ThorntonDmore damage than 91%river and rain flooding31
WoodstockDmore damage than 95%river and rain flooding8
Benton—386 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 Woodstock 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 Woodstock

Is Woodstock at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Woodstock has higher expected damage per building than 95% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). 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 Woodstock flood?

Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Woodstock since 2011, $100K in all, or 5.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 64% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (6).

Is Woodstock 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 Woodstock?

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

By FEMA money that reached Woodstock, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 3 households applied for aid, $13K approved, and $62K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 6 paid, $87K.

Is Woodstock at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Woodstock’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Woodstock.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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