TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
AlfordGood night
Natural hazards · Alford

Alford, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Alford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1996. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Alford?

46
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Alford to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Hurricanes10%Everything else16%
By hazard

What Alford 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
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Alford flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Alford, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 1996
$2Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19962026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Alford isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Berkshire County.
Disasters that hit Alford

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AlfordDeclared for Berkshire County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$8K to the Town of Alford for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Town of Alford for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$9K to the Town of Alford for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$3K to the Town of Alford for repairs
2003

Snow

$6K to the Town of Alford for repairs
2001

Snow

$4K to the Town of Alford for repairs
Berkshire County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.
Around Alford

Alford and the towns around it

West Stockbridge: High, mostly inland floodingGreat Barrington: High, mostly inland floodingEgremont: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStockbridge: High, mostly inland floodingMonterey: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSheffield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMount Washington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAlford: Moderate, mostly inland flooding AlfordWest StockbridgeGreat BarringtonEgremont
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
West Stockbridgemostly inland floodingHigh
Great Barringtonmostly inland floodingHigh
Alfordmostly inland floodingModerate
Egremontmostly inland floodingModerate
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. Alford 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 Alford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Alford. 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Alford, MABerkshire CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Alford is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map