Smith Mills is calmer than 92% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Smith Mills comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1991.
What stands out about Smith Mills’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Smith Mills?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Calmer than 338 of the 351 Massachusetts towns we cover.
Smith Mills covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Smith Mills faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
Does Smith Mills flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1991
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Smith Mills, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Bob5 claims · $59K
- The March 2010 nor’easter1 claim · $2K
Smith Mills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bristol County.Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Bristol County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Smith Mills itself in FEMA’s records.
Bristol County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Get ready for what Smith Mills 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Smith Mills and its neighbors
Smith Mills has the lowest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | Very low | inland flooding | 34 |
| Smith Mills | Very low | inland flooding | 8 |
| Dartmouth | Very low | inland flooding | 94 |
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 January–March
The month each of Bristol County’s 23 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 Smith Mills’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Smith Mills.
- 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. Across Smith Mills, expected losses total about $1.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Smith Mills.
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. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.