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Natural hazards · Searsburg

Searsburg, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Searsburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Searsburg?

62
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Searsburg to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding67%Cold waves23%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Searsburg faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Searsburg flood?

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

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

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SearsburgDeclared for Bennington County only
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

6 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $236K to the Town of Searsburg for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm

$4K to the Town of Searsburg for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$12K to the Town of Searsburg for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the Town of Searsburg for repairs
Bennington County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Searsburg

Searsburg and the towns around it

Wilmington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWoodford: High, mostly inland floodingReadsboro: High, mostly inland floodingWhitingham: Low, mostly inland floodingDover: Very low, mostly inland floodingBennington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStamford: High, mostly inland floodingPownal: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSearsburg: High, mostly inland flooding SearsburgWilmingtonWoodfordReadsboro
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Searsburgmostly inland floodingHigh
Woodfordmostly inland floodingHigh
Readsboromostly inland floodingHigh
Wilmingtonmostly 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. Searsburg 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 Searsburg’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Searsburg. 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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