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Natural hazards · Wells

Wells, VT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wells comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2017. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Wells?

42
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wells to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Cold waves7%Everything else19%
By hazard

What Wells 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 68% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 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 Wells flood?

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

1paid claims since 2017
$7Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20172026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Wells isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rutland County.
Disasters that hit Wells

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WellsDeclared for Rutland County only
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$73K to the Town of Wells for repairs
2017

Severe Storms and Flooding

$126K to the Town of Wells for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

5 households applied for aid $5K aid approved $12K to the Town of Wells for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$26K to the Town of Wells for repairs
Rutland County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Wells

Wells and the towns around it

Pawlet: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPoultney: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGranville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMiddletown Springs: Moderate, mostly inland floodingTinmouth: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRupert: Low, mostly inland floodingDanby: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHampton: High, mostly inland floodingCastleton: Low, mostly inland floodingFair Haven: Very low, mostly inland floodingIra: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHartford: Low, mostly inland floodingWhitehall: High, mostly inland floodingFort Ann: Low, mostly inland floodingHebron: High, mostly inland floodingWallingford: Moderate, mostly inland floodingClarendon: Low, mostly inland floodingWells: Moderate, mostly inland flooding WellsPawletPoultneyGranvilleMiddletown SpringsTinmouth
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Pawletmostly inland floodingModerate
Granvillemostly inland floodingModerate
Middletown Springsmostly inland floodingModerate
Tinmouthmostly inland floodingModerate
Wellsmostly inland floodingModerate
Poultneymostly 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. Wells 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 Wells’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Wells. 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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