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Natural hazards · Hawley

Hawley, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hawley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2011. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Hawley?

78
High
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding81%Cold waves6%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Hawley 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 Hawley flood?

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

1paid claims since 2011
$1Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20112026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Hawley 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 Hawley

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HawleyDeclared for Franklin County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$6K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$5K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

17 households applied for aid $21K aid approved $1.5M to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$191K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$27K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $258 aid approved $48K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$7K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2003

Snow

$11K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
2001

Snow

$6K to the Town of Hawley for repairs
Franklin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around Hawley

Hawley and the towns around it

Charlemont: High, mostly inland floodingPlainfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBuckland: High, mostly inland floodingRowe: High, mostly inland floodingHeath: High, mostly inland floodingShelburne: High, mostly inland floodingFlorida: Low, mostly inland floodingColrain: High, mostly inland floodingAshfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCummington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWindsor: Low, mostly inland floodingSavoy: Low, mostly inland floodingHawley: High, mostly inland flooding HawleyCharlemontPlainfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Hawleymostly inland floodingHigh
Charlemontmostly inland floodingHigh
Plainfieldmostly 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. Hawley 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 Hawley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Hawley. 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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