Natural hazards · Vermont

Vermont, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vermont comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Vermont?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Vermont to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding31%Cold waves26%Tornadoes9%Hail8%Wildfire7%Strong wind6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Vermont faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Vermont flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Vermont isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Edmunds County.

Disasters that hit Vermont

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VermontDeclared for Edmunds County only

2011

Flooding

$36K to the Township of Vermont for repairs

2010

Flooding

$6K to the Township of Vermont for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Vermont for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams

$7K to the Township of Vermont for repairs

Edmunds County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Vermont

Vermont and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Enterprisemostly cold wavesLow

Libertymostly cold wavesLow

Vermontmostly inland floodingLow

Hillsidemostly inland floodingLow

Montpeliermostly 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. Vermont 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 Vermont’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Vermont. 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.