TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
PittsfieldGood evening
Natural hazards · Pittsfield

Pittsfield, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pittsfield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 75 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 Pittsfield?

66
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pittsfield to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding78%Hurricanes6%Cold waves5%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Pittsfield faces

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

Inland flooding

78% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 42% 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 floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Pittsfield flood?

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

75paid claims since 1978
$725Kpaid to owners
11homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Irene: 14 claims, $223K
  • March 2010 Nor'easter: 1 claim, $7K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PittsfieldDeclared for Berkshire County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$116K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$73K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

116 households applied for aid $104K aid approved $33K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$102K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$5K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

31 households applied for aid $80K aid approved $23K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$128K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2003

Snow

$156K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
2001

Snow

$67K to the City of Pittsfield for repairs
Berkshire County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.
Around Pittsfield

Pittsfield and the towns around it

Dalton: High, mostly inland floodingHancock: Low, mostly inland floodingLanesborough: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWashington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHinsdale: Low, mostly inland floodingWindsor: Low, mostly inland floodingCheshire: High, mostly inland floodingNew Ashford: Low, mostly inland floodingRichmond: Low, mostly inland floodingLenox: Very low, mostly inland floodingLee: High, mostly inland floodingBecket: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPeru: Low, mostly inland floodingMiddlefield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPittsfield: High, mostly inland flooding PittsfieldDaltonHancockLanesboroughWashington
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Pittsfieldmostly inland floodingHigh
Daltonmostly inland floodingHigh
Washingtonmostly inland floodingModerate
Lanesboroughmostly inland floodingModerate
Hancockmostly 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. Pittsfield covers 11 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pittsfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Pittsfield. 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 Pittsfield total about $16.3M 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 porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Pittsfield, MAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Pittsfield is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map