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Natural hazards · Bethel

Bethel, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bethel comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 2007. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Bethel?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bethel to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding81%Everything else19%
By hazard

What Bethel faces

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

Inland flooding

81% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about once 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 Bethel flood?

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

16paid claims since 2007
$1.1Mpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20072026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Irene: 13 claims, $819K
  • Vermont/New York Flooding: 2 claims, $261K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bethel isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Windsor County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Bethel

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BethelDeclared for Windsor County only
2023

Severe Storm and Flooding

$852K to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2023

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

42 households applied for aid $118K aid approved $1.3M to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$1.8M to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2017

Severe Storms and Flooding

$12K to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2013

Severe Storms and Flooding

$24K to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

153 households applied for aid $838K aid approved $5.4M to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$565K to the Town of Bethel for repairs
2001

Snow

$6K to the Town of Bethel for repairs
Windsor County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Bethel

Bethel and the towns around it

Royalton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRochester: High, mostly inland floodingRandolph: Low, mostly inland floodingTunbridge: High, mostly inland floodingBraintree: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBarnard: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSharon: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPomfret: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStrafford: High, mostly inland floodingPittsfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHancock: Moderate, mostly inland floodingChittenden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGoshen: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGranville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStockbridge: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBrookfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingChelsea: High, mostly inland floodingRoxbury: Low, mostly inland floodingBethel: High, mostly inland flooding BethelRoyaltonRochesterRandolphTunbridgeBraintree
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Tunbridgemostly inland floodingHigh
Bethelmostly inland floodingHigh
Rochestermostly inland floodingHigh
Braintreemostly inland floodingModerate
Royaltonmostly inland floodingModerate
Randolphmostly 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. Bethel 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 Bethel’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bethel. 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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