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Braintree hill meeting housePhoto: Jessamyn West · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Braintree · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Braintree faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Braintree gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 4%Strong wind 1%

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 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Vermont · higher than 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2011 · $60K
Disasters paid out here
9
of 31 declared for Orange County
By hazard

What Braintree 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

92%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Earthquakes Tornadoes Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Landslides top 4% Hail 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 Braintree’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Braintree, and Braintree’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Braintree sits
Braintree
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $467K a year in losses across Braintree: $384K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Braintree’s 1,207 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Brookfield town (1,244 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 Braintree flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Braintree, from FEMA’s records: 3.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 50% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 2 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 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 claims2011
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene2 claims · $60K
2
paid claims since 2011
$60K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$30K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Braintree isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Orange County.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Braintree

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$35K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
  2. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$75K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
  3. 2014Severe Winter Storm$5K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
  4. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$81K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene39 households applied for aid$220K aid approved$1.9M to the Town of Braintree for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $60K
  6. 2011Severe Storms and Flooding$19K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$144K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
  2. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$32K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
  3. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$9K to the Town of Braintree for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BraintreeOrange County only

Orange County has had 31 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Braintree archive →
Next door

Braintree and its neighbors

Braintree is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Rochester: hazard risk CRandolph: hazard risk B+Granville: not gradedBrookfield: hazard risk C+Roxbury: not gradedBethel: hazard risk CRochesterRandolphGranvilleBrookfieldRoxburyBethelBraintree
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RandolphB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding6
BrookfieldC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding—
BraintreeC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding2
RochesterCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding7
BethelCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding16
Granville—414 residents; we grade 1,000+
Roxbury—942 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 Braintree 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 Braintree

Is Braintree at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Braintree has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Braintree flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Braintree since 2011, $60K in all, or 3.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 50% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (2).

Is Braintree 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 Orange County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Braintree?

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

By FEMA money that reached Braintree, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 39 households applied for aid, $220K approved, and $1.9M to the Town of Braintree for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 2 paid, $60K.

Is Braintree at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Braintree’s rate for it is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Braintree.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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