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Natural hazards · New Salem

New Salem, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in New Salem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is New Salem?

36
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in New Salem to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding57%Cold waves12%Hurricanes9%Strong wind6%Everything else16%
By hazard

What New Salem faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 New Salem flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. New Salem 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 New Salem

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into New SalemDeclared for Franklin County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$7K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

$2K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$66K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$5K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2003

Snow

$7K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
2001

Snow

$3K to the Town of New Salem for repairs
Franklin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around New Salem

New Salem and the towns around it

Petersham: Very low, mostly inland floodingPelham: Low, mostly inland floodingBelchertown: Low, mostly inland floodingWare: Moderate, mostly inland floodingShutesbury: Low, mostly inland floodingWendell: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAthol: High, mostly inland floodingOrange: High, mostly inland floodingHardwick: Low, mostly inland floodingPhillipston: Low, mostly inland floodingAmherst Town: Low, mostly inland floodingPalmer Town: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLudlow: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGranby: Low, mostly inland floodingWest Brookfield: High, mostly inland floodingWarren: Low, mostly inland floodingErving: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMontague: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRoyalston: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWarwick: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Salem: Low, mostly inland flooding New SalemPetershamPelhamBelchertownWareShutesburyWendellAtholOrange
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Atholmostly inland floodingHigh
Orangemostly inland floodingHigh
Wendellmostly inland floodingModerate
Waremostly inland floodingModerate
New Salemmostly inland floodingLow
Shutesburymostly inland floodingLow
Pelhammostly inland floodingLow
Belchertownmostly inland floodingLow
Petershammostly inland floodingVery 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. New Salem 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 New Salem’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of New Salem. 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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