Rowe’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rowe comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Rowe’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Rowe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rowe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Rowe 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.How exposed is Rowe?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 342 of the 351 Massachusetts towns we cover.
Rowe is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Rowe faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rowe
Disasters that paid out in Rowe itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Rowe) and its biggest flood years.
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$12K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene4 households applied for aid$121K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$98K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$30K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$6K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
Show all 9
- 2005Record And/Or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2003Snow$18K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
- 2001Snow$8K to the Town of Rowe for repairs
Franklin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Old photos of Rowe after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rowe archive →Get ready for what Rowe actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Rowe and its neighbors
Rowe ranks 2nd calmest of 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowe | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Monroe | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Charlemont | High | inland flooding | 4 |
| Heath | High | inland flooding | 7 |
| Florida | Low | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Franklin County’s 18 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Rowe’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Rowe.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rowe.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.