TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
RochesterGood night
Natural hazards · Rochester

Rochester, NH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rochester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1998. 12 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Rochester?

42
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rochester to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding72%Hurricanes5%Everything else23%
By hazard

What Rochester 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
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

5% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Rochester flood?

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

15paid claims since 1998
$99Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19982026

Biggest named events

  • March 2010 Nor'easter: 2 claims, $3K
  • December Nor'easter: 1 claim, $18K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Rochester

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RochesterDeclared for Strafford County only
2018

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$85K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2015

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$141K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2013

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$84K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2012

Hurricane Sandy

$21K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

$28K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storm

$41K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm

$76K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

81 households applied for aid $116K aid approved $320K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

180 households applied for aid $265K aid approved $548K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$53K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2003

Snow

$33K to the City of Rochester for repairs
2001

Snow

$47K to the City of Rochester for repairs
Strafford County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Around Rochester

Rochester and the towns around it

Lebanon: Low, mostly inland floodingBerwick: Low, mostly inland floodingBarrington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFarmington: High, mostly inland floodingDover: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStrafford: Low, mostly inland floodingMilton: Low, mostly inland floodingSanford: Low, mostly inland floodingActon: Low, mostly inland floodingNorth Berwick: Low, mostly inland floodingSomersworth: Low, mostly inland floodingRollinsford: Low, mostly inland floodingSouth Berwick: Low, mostly inland floodingNottingham: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMadbury: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Durham: Low, mostly inland floodingBarnstead: High, mostly inland floodingAlton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEliot: Low, mostly inland floodingNewington: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorthwood: Very low, mostly inland floodingPittsfield: High, mostly inland floodingRochester: Moderate, mostly inland flooding RochesterLebanonBerwickBarringtonFarmingtonDoverStrafford
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Farmingtonmostly inland floodingHigh
Barringtonmostly inland floodingModerate
Dovermostly inland floodingModerate
Rochestermostly inland floodingModerate
Berwickmostly inland floodingLow
Straffordmostly inland floodingLow
Lebanonmostly 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. Rochester covers 8 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rochester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rochester. 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 Rochester total about $7.2M 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Rochester, NHView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Rochester is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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