Natural hazards · Fairlee

Fairlee, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairlee comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fairlee?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairlee to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding81%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Fairlee 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 87% 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 Fairlee flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Fairlee 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.

Disasters that hit Fairlee

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairleeDeclared for Orange County only

2023

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

4 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2011

Tropical Storm Irene

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Orange County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Fairlee

Fairlee and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Orfordmostly inland floodingVery high

Fairleemostly inland floodingHigh

West Fairleemostly inland floodingHigh

Bradfordmostly 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. Fairlee 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 Fairlee’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Fairlee. 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.