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Natural hazards · Lyme

Lyme, NH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lyme comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2000. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lyme?

81
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lyme to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding85%Everything else16%
By hazard

What Lyme faces

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

Inland flooding

85% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lyme flood?

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

1paid claims since 2000
$302paid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20002026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lyme isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grafton County.
Disasters that hit Lyme

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LymeDeclared for Grafton County only
2017

Severe Storms and Flooding

$237K to the Town of Lyme for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

$8K to the Town of Lyme for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$29K to the Town of Lyme for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $46K to the Town of Lyme for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the Town of Lyme for repairs
2001

Snow

$5K to the Town of Lyme for repairs
Grafton County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Lyme

Lyme and the towns around it

Thetford: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHanover: Moderate, mostly inland floodingOrford: Very high, mostly inland floodingDorchester: Very high, mostly inland floodingNorwich: High, mostly inland floodingStrafford: High, mostly inland floodingLebanon: High, mostly inland floodingCanaan: Very high, mostly inland floodingFairlee: High, mostly inland floodingWentworth: Very high, mostly inland floodingPiermont: Very high, mostly inland floodingBradford: Low, mostly inland floodingGroton: Very high, mostly inland floodingOrange: Very high, mostly inland floodingRumney: High, mostly inland floodingHartford: Low, mostly inland floodingSharon: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLyme: Very high, mostly inland flooding LymeThetfordHanoverOrfordDorchesterNorwich
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Orfordmostly inland floodingVery high
Lymemostly inland floodingVery high
Dorchestermostly inland floodingVery high
Norwichmostly inland floodingHigh
Thetfordmostly inland floodingModerate
Hanovermostly inland floodingModerate
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. Lyme 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 Lyme’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lyme. 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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