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Natural hazards · Lancaster

Lancaster, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lancaster comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 31 claims here since 1978. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lancaster?

21
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lancaster to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding45%Hurricanes25%Drought10%Cold waves7%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Lancaster faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

25% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Lancaster flood?

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

31paid claims since 1978
$327Kpaid to owners
5homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • March 2010 Nor'easter: 6 claims, $105K
  • April 2007 Nor'easter: 3 claims, $79K
  • Not a named storm: 1 claim, $515

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lancaster isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Worcester County.
Disasters that hit Lancaster

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LancasterDeclared for Worcester County only
2015

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$19K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$34K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$227K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

74 households applied for aid $52K aid approved $54K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$145K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$20K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2003

Snow

$31K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
2001

Snow

$11K to the Town of Lancaster for repairs
Worcester County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around Lancaster

Lancaster and the towns around it

Harvard: Very low, mostly inland floodingLeominster: Low, mostly inland floodingBolton: Low, mostly inland floodingClinton: Very low, mostly hurricanesSterling: Very low, mostly inland floodingShirley: Very low, mostly inland floodingAyer: Very low, mostly inland floodingBoxborough: Very low, mostly inland floodingLittleton: Very low, mostly inland floodingFitchburg: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLunenburg: Very low, mostly inland floodingPrinceton: Very low, mostly inland floodingHudson: Very low, mostly inland floodingBerlin: Low, mostly inland floodingBoylston: Very low, mostly inland floodingWest Boylston: Very low, mostly inland floodingHolden: Very low, mostly inland floodingLancaster: Low, mostly inland flooding LancasterHarvardLeominsterBoltonClintonSterling
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Lancastermostly inland floodingLow
Boltonmostly inland floodingLow
Leominstermostly inland floodingLow
Sterlingmostly inland floodingVery low
Harvardmostly inland floodingVery low
Clintonmostly hurricanesVery low
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. Lancaster covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lancaster’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lancaster. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Lancaster total about $1.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

The door’s open

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You’re in Lancaster, MAWorcester CountyView boundary

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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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