Natural hazards · Sheldon

Sheldon, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sheldon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sheldon?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sheldon to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Everything else27%

By hazard

What Sheldon faces

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

Inland flooding

74% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Sheldon flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Sheldon isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Franklin County.

Disasters that hit Sheldon

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SheldonDeclared for Franklin County only

2013

Severe Winter Storms

$9K to the Town of Sheldon for repairs

2011

Tropical Storm Irene

1 household applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $8K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the Town of Sheldon for repairs

2002

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Town of Sheldon for repairs

Franklin County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Sheldon

Sheldon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Enosburghmostly inland floodingModerate

Swantonmostly inland floodingLow

Fairfieldmostly inland floodingLow

Highgatemostly inland floodingLow

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