247 flood insurance claims·$6.7M paid·9 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 Cheshire County, New Hampshire. 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, accounting for 58 events and two deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 14 general flood events and 2 tropical storms. Recent damaging events include a flash flood driven by unstable, unseasonably hot air in May 2024, and multiple rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms over saturated soils in July 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that property damage extends across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims occurring in high-risk areas. Specifically, Zone A accounts for 175 claims with an average payout of $32,655 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 20 claims with a higher average payout of $148,392 and an average water depth of 6 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 9 claims averaging $62,981 with an average water depth of 18 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in Zone A, Zone X, and Zone X_UNSHADED should pay the closest attention to flood risks, given the substantial claim payouts and recorded water depths associated with these zones during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Cheshire County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
191 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 15 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 2005, with 80 claims and $4.1M paid, the year of Hurricane Katrina Evacuation and Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
61 NOAA storm reports from Cheshire County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New Hampshire flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 9, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Jul 29, 2021 |
| Stoddard Fire | Apr 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | May 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storm | Oct 29, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
74 since 1996: 58 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2024. An unseasonably hot and humid airmass brought unstable conditions to southern New Hampshire as high pressure to the east allowed warm air from the southwest to move into the region. A weak mid-level disturbance triggered storms to develop by mid-afternoon across southern and central New Hampshire. A few of the storms became severe downing trees along with some large hail.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2023. A stalled frontal boundary and surface low pressure began to slowly lift northward into the southeast New Hampshire through the Midcoast of Maine on the afternoon of the 29th. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the boundary and moved eastward. Since the system as a whole showed very little forward progression, multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms ended up moving across the same locations multiple ti…
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2023. On the evening of June 25, moderate to heavy rain occurred with rainfall rates briefly reaching up to 4��� per hour. Numerous storms repeatedly traveled over the same area of Southern Grafton County through midnight before the rain ended shortly after. After a short break in the rain activity from midnight through the morning of June 26, showers and thunderstorms began to redevelop across southern New Hampsh…
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2023. A cold front moved approached New Hampshire from the west, bringing a line of showers and thunderstorms. The environment was a continuation of an anomalously moist airmass supportive of torrential rainfall. Ground conditions across New Hampshire were growing saturated, and streams were running high. The storms that developed on the evening of the 13th were concentrated across southwest New Hampshire.
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 Cheshire 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.