114 flood insurance claims·$3.4M paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Franklin County, Massachusetts. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Over the last 30 years, riverine flooding and flash flooding from severe weather have dominated the flood profile of Franklin County, with 52 standard flood events and 38 flash flood events recorded, alongside 3 tropical storms. These hazards are regularly driven by severe weather patterns, such as the cold front on June 6, 2025, which brought damaging winds, quarter-sized hail, and flash flooding to western and central Massachusetts.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk areas bear the brunt of financial losses. Zone A properties account for the highest claim volume with 69 claims averaging $47,651 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X_SHADED averaged the highest recorded water depth at 25 inches across 15 claims with an average payout of $29,231, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 21 claims averaging $31,899 with an average water depth of 10 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, as well as moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas where significant water depths have still resulted in insurance claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
34% of Franklin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
105 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 13 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2011, with 42 claims and $1.3M paid, the year of Hurricane Irene, Severe Storm and Snowstorm and Severe Storm.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
50 NOAA storm reports from Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Massachusetts flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1985, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Lee | Sep 15, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storm | Oct 29, 2011 |
| Severe Storm And Snowstorm | Oct 29, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 11, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
93 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 52 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2021 | $7,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2025. After one rouge severe storm in northeast MA in the morning, a cold front brought a round of strong to severe storms through western and central Massachusetts during the afternoon and evening. These storms dropped quarter sized hail, produced damaging winds, and some flash flooding.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2024. A small cluster of thunderstorms formed over northwest Massachusetts during the afternoon and early evening causing some severe hail and wind damage to a few towns.
Flood · Jun 21, 2024. Two rounds of thunderstorms brought damaging winds and isolated flash flooding to Massachusetts in the afternoon and evening.
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2023. A warm front stalled across Connecticut and Rhode Island, producing thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall. This caused significant flash flooding. Also, wind shear was just strong enough for a few thunderstorms to become severe, with locally damaging wind gusts. A Tornado Warning was even issued for a storm in northern Worcester County, but no tornado damage was reported.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Franklin County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.