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Natural hazards · Winthrop

Winthrop, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winthrop comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1,045 claims here since 1978.

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

How exposed is Winthrop?

24
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Winthrop to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and coastal flooding.

Inland flooding44%Coastal flooding21%Hurricanes9%Earthquakes7%Heat waves7%Cold waves7%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Winthrop faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Coastal flooding

21% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Heat waves

7% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Winthrop flood?

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

1,045paid claims since 1978
$7.3Mpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • The “Halloween” storm: 267 claims, $2.3M
  • Not a named storm: 136 claims, $304K
  • December Storm - Nor'easter: 131 claims, $733K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Winthrop isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Suffolk County.
Disasters that hit Winthrop

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Suffolk County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Winthrop itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into WinthropDeclared for Suffolk County only
Suffolk County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Around Winthrop

Winthrop and the towns around it

Boston: Very low, mostly inland floodingRevere: Low, mostly inland floodingNahant: Low, mostly inland floodingMilton: Low, mostly inland floodingBrookline: Very low, mostly inland floodingCambridge: Low, mostly inland floodingDedham: Very low, mostly inland floodingQuincy: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNewton: Low, mostly inland floodingChelsea: Low, mostly inland floodingWatertown: Low, mostly inland floodingEverett: Low, mostly inland floodingHull: Very high, mostly coastal floodingSaugus: High, mostly inland floodingLynn: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMalden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWinthrop Town: Low, mostly inland flooding Winthrop TownBostonRevereNahant
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Reveremostly inland floodingLow
Winthrop Townmostly inland floodingLow
Nahantmostly inland floodingLow
Bostonmostly 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. Winthrop covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Winthrop’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Winthrop. 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 Winthrop total about $3.1M 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.

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