Natural hazards · Boston

Boston, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Boston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Boston?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Boston to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Tornadoes8%Strong wind6%Cold waves5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Boston faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

74% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 18 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Boston flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Boston.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Boston isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Nelson County.

Disasters that hit Boston

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Boston itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Boston.

Brought FEMA money into BostonDeclared for Nelson County only

2025

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

38 households applied for aid $304K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes

23 households applied for aid $140K aid approved

Nelson County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Boston is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Boston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Boston. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.