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Natural hazards · Pelham

Pelham, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pelham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Pelham?

32
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pelham to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding65%Hurricanes14%Everything else21%
By hazard

What Pelham faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

14% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Pelham flood?

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

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

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PelhamDeclared for Hampshire County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$16K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$36K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

$4K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$14K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$68K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$7K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$8K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2003

Snow

$11K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
2001

Snow

$3K to the Town of Pelham for repairs
Hampshire County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.
Around Pelham

Pelham and the towns around it

New Salem: Low, mostly inland floodingBelchertown: Low, mostly inland floodingAmherst Town: Low, mostly inland floodingShutesbury: Low, mostly inland floodingPetersham: Very low, mostly inland floodingWare: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWendell: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAthol: High, mostly inland floodingOrange: High, mostly inland floodingPalmer Town: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLudlow: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGranby: Low, mostly inland floodingHadley: Low, mostly inland floodingSouth Hadley: Low, mostly inland floodingLeverett: Low, mostly inland floodingPelham: Low, mostly inland flooding PelhamNew SalemBelchertownAmherst TownShutesbury
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
New Salemmostly inland floodingLow
Shutesburymostly inland floodingLow
Pelhammostly inland floodingLow
Belchertownmostly inland floodingLow
Amherst Townmostly 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. Pelham 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 Pelham’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Pelham. 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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