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Natural hazards · Orwell

Orwell, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Orwell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Orwell?

13
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Orwell to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding61%Hurricanes9%Cold waves7%Everything else23%
By hazard

What Orwell faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 29% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 31 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Orwell flood?

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

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

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OrwellDeclared for Addison County only
2014

Severe Winter Storm

$21K to the Town of Orwell for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved $56K to the Town of Orwell for repairs
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $18K to the Town of Orwell for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$19K to the Town of Orwell for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$27K to the Town of Orwell for repairs
2001

Snow

$5K to the Town of Orwell for repairs
Addison County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Orwell

Orwell and the towns around it

Putnam: High, mostly inland floodingTiconderoga: High, mostly inland floodingShoreham: Very low, mostly inland floodingWhiting: Very low, mostly inland floodingBenson: Very low, mostly inland floodingSudbury: Very low, mostly inland floodingHague: High, mostly inland floodingDresden: High, mostly inland floodingSchroon: Low, mostly inland floodingCrown Point: High, mostly inland floodingBridport: Very low, mostly inland floodingCornwall: Very low, mostly inland floodingSalisbury: Very low, mostly inland floodingLeicester: Very low, mostly inland floodingWest Haven: Very low, mostly inland floodingFair Haven: Very low, mostly inland floodingCastleton: Low, mostly inland floodingBrandon: Low, mostly inland floodingHubbardton: Very low, mostly inland floodingOrwell: Very low, mostly inland flooding OrwellPutnamTiconderogaShorehamWhitingBensonSudbury
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Putnammostly inland floodingHigh
Ticonderogamostly inland floodingHigh
Bensonmostly inland floodingVery low
Sudburymostly inland floodingVery low
Orwellmostly inland floodingVery low
Shorehammostly inland floodingVery low
Whitingmostly inland floodingVery low
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. Orwell 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 Orwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Orwell. 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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