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Natural hazards · Sunderland

Sunderland, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sunderland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2011. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Sunderland?

70
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sunderland to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding72%Cold waves19%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Sunderland faces

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

Inland flooding

72% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

19% 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 Sunderland flood?

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

3paid claims since 2011
$186Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20112026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Irene: 2 claims, $183K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Sunderland 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 Sunderland

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SunderlandDeclared for Bennington County only
2021

Severe Storm and Flooding

$22K to the Town of Sunderland for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

2 households applied for aid $8K aid approved $68K to the Town of Sunderland for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$25K to the Town of Sunderland for repairs
2001

Snow

$3K to the Town of Sunderland for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$13K to the Town of Sunderland for repairs
Bennington County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Sunderland

Sunderland and the towns around it

Arlington: High, mostly inland floodingStratton: Very low, mostly inland floodingManchester: Low, mostly inland floodingWinhall: Very low, mostly inland floodingShaftsbury: Low, mostly inland floodingSandgate: High, mostly inland floodingWardsboro: Very low, mostly inland floodingJamaica: High, mostly inland floodingDover: Very low, mostly inland floodingDorset: Low, mostly inland floodingLondonderry: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPeru: Very low, mostly inland floodingSunderland: High, mostly inland flooding SunderlandArlingtonStrattonManchesterWinhall
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Sunderlandmostly inland floodingHigh
Arlingtonmostly inland floodingHigh
Manchestermostly inland floodingLow
Winhallmostly inland floodingVery low
Strattonmostly 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. Sunderland 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 Sunderland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sunderland. 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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