Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Woodstock

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Whitman Memorial LibraryWhitman Memorial Library · Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Woodstock · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Woodstock faces less hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Woodstock gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%), then hurricanes (29%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 58%Hurricanes 29%Ice storms 8%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

less than 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Maine · lower than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
58% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
16
of 34 declared for Oxford County
By hazard

What Woodstock faces

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

River and rain flooding

58%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

29%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Ice storms

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Winter storms Lightning top 1% Tornadoes Strong wind Wildfire Landslides top 4% Hail Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 14% of Woodstock’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Woodstock’s grade

River and rain flooding is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Woodstock, and Woodstock’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 8%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Woodstock sits
Woodstock
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Woodstock’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding58%Hurricanes29%Ice storms8%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $301K a year in losses across Woodstock: $196K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Woodstock’s 1,352 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Greenwood town (774 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Woodstock flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Woodstock. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Woodstock isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Oxford County.
Disasters

16 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Woodstock

Disasters that paid out in Woodstock itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Woodstock), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding2 households applied for aid$34K aid approved$77K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$48K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  3. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$10K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$3K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$22K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  6. 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides$98K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
Show all 16
  1. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$9K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  2. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$12K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  3. 2005Record Snow$6K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  4. 2005Snow$7K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  5. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$7K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  6. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$26K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  7. 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  8. 2001Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$2K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  9. 2001Snow$10K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
  10. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$10K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WoodstockOxford County only

Oxford County has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Woodstock after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Woodstock archive →
Next door

Woodstock and its neighbors

Woodstock has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

West Paris: hazard risk CGreenwood: not gradedSumner: hazard risk B−Peru: hazard risk B−Bethel: hazard risk BWest ParisGreenwoodSumnerPeruBethelWoodstock
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WoodstockB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding0
BethelBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding18
SumnerB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding—
PeruB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding5
West ParisCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding—
Greenwood—781 residents; we grade 1,000+

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Woodstock faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Ice storms
  • Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
  • Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
  • Keep sand or salt by the door.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Woodstock

Is Woodstock at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Woodstock has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%) and hurricanes (29%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Woodstock in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Oxford County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Woodstock?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Woodstock’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Woodstock?

By FEMA money that reached Woodstock, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): 2 households applied for aid, $34K approved, and $77K to the Town of Woodstock for repairs.

Is Woodstock at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Woodstock’s rate for it is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Woodstock.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Woodstock’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.