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Natural hazards · Nelson

Nelson, NH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Nelson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Nelson?

61
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Nelson to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding72%Hurricanes7%Cold waves5%Everything else16%
By hazard

What Nelson faces

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

Inland flooding

72% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 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 Nelson flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Nelson.

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

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NelsonDeclared for Cheshire County only
2008

Severe Winter Storm

$39K to the Town of Nelson for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$106K to the Town of Nelson for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
Cheshire County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Nelson

Nelson and the towns around it

Harrisville: Low, mostly inland floodingStoddard: High, mostly inland floodingRoxbury: High, mostly inland floodingSullivan: High, mostly inland floodingDublin: Low, mostly inland floodingHancock: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMarlborough: High, mostly inland floodingPeterborough: High, mostly inland floodingWindsor: High, mostly inland floodingAntrim: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWashington: High, mostly inland floodingKeene: High, mostly inland floodingGilsum: High, mostly inland floodingNelson: High, mostly inland flooding NelsonHarrisvilleStoddardRoxburySullivan
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Nelsonmostly inland floodingHigh
Stoddardmostly inland floodingHigh
Roxburymostly inland floodingHigh
Sullivanmostly inland floodingHigh
Harrisvillemostly 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. Nelson 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 Nelson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Nelson. 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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