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Natural hazards · Chelsea

Chelsea, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chelsea comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 1989. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Chelsea?

65
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chelsea to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding80%Everything else20%
By hazard

What Chelsea faces

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

Inland flooding

80% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% 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 Chelsea flood?

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

17paid claims since 1989
$327Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19892026

Biggest named events

  • Vermont/New York Flooding: 5 claims, $170K
  • Hurricane Irene: 3 claims, $50K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Chelsea

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChelseaDeclared for Orange County only
2023

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

44 households applied for aid $246K aid approved $776K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
2017

Severe Storms and Flooding

$56K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
2014

Severe Winter Storm

$12K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
2014

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

1 household applied for aid $6K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$70K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
Orange County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Chelsea

Chelsea and the towns around it

Washington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingTunbridge: High, mostly inland floodingVershire: High, mostly inland floodingBrookfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCorinth: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWilliamstown: Low, mostly inland floodingOrange: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRandolph: Low, mostly inland floodingStrafford: High, mostly inland floodingRoyalton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBethel: High, mostly inland floodingBraintree: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRoxbury: Low, mostly inland floodingChelsea: High, mostly inland flooding ChelseaWashingtonTunbridgeVershireBrookfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Chelseamostly inland floodingHigh
Tunbridgemostly inland floodingHigh
Vershiremostly inland floodingHigh
Brookfieldmostly inland floodingModerate
Washingtonmostly 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. Chelsea 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 Chelsea’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Chelsea. 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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