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Natural hazards · Colrain

Colrain, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Colrain comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1987. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Colrain?

78
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Colrain to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding81%Cold waves6%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Colrain faces

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

Inland flooding

81% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Colrain flood?

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

2paid claims since 1987
$11Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19872026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Colrain isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Franklin County.
Disasters that hit Colrain

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColrainDeclared for Franklin County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$14K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$7K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

62 households applied for aid $242K aid approved $789K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$67K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$65K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $2K aid approved $197K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$11K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2003

Snow

$18K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
2001

Snow

$10K to the Town of Colrain for repairs
Franklin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around Colrain

Colrain and the towns around it

Leyden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHalifax: Low, mostly inland floodingHeath: High, mostly inland floodingCharlemont: High, mostly inland floodingBernardston: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGuilford: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGreenfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMarlboro: Low, mostly inland floodingWhitingham: Low, mostly inland floodingRowe: High, mostly inland floodingBuckland: High, mostly inland floodingShelburne: High, mostly inland floodingFlorida: Low, mostly inland floodingHawley: High, mostly inland floodingColrain: High, mostly inland flooding ColrainLeydenHalifaxHeathCharlemont
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Colrainmostly inland floodingHigh
Heathmostly inland floodingHigh
Charlemontmostly inland floodingHigh
Leydenmostly inland floodingModerate
Halifaxmostly inland floodingLow
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. Colrain 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 Colrain’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Colrain. 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.

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