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Bristol VTPhoto: Rania al-Bahara · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bristol · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bristol faces less hazard damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bristol gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #37 of 71 in Vermont. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1998.

River and rain flooding 88%Earthquakes 4%Hurricanes 4%

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 65%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#37 of 71 in Vermont
Hazard risk
B+#37 of 71
in Vermont · lower than 65% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 1998 · $25K
Disasters paid out here
10
of 27 declared for Addison County

What stands out about Bristol’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 65% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Moved out of harm’s way15 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Bristol 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

88%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hurricanes Strong wind Ice storms Tornadoes Winter storms Lightning Wildfire Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 8% of Bristol’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 Bristol’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bristol, and Bristol’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bristol sits
Bristol
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #37 of 71 in Vermont; lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Earthquakes4%Hurricanes4%Everything else4%

The typical Vermont town has lower expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bristol has more expected damage per building than 51% of Vermont towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Bristol: $902K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bristol’s 3,782 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Bristol CDP (1,936 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 Bristol flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1998

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bristol, from FEMA’s records: 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1998: 1 claim1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199820042006
19982026
3
paid claims since 1998
$25K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Addison County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
15flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bristol

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

  1. 2024Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides15 households applied for aid$75K aid approved$10K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$103K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
  3. 2019Severe Storm and Flooding$184K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$9K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
  5. 2014Severe Winter Storm$32K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
  6. 2011Tropical Storm Irene7 households applied for aid$7K aid approved$40K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2011Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
  2. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$24K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
  3. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$74K to the Town of Bristol for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  4. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Bristol for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BristolAddison County only

Addison County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Bristol archive →
Next door

Bristol and its neighbors

Bristol is 5th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

New Haven: hazard risk ALincoln: hazard risk C+Middlebury: hazard risk AStarksboro: hazard risk B+Ripton: not gradedMonkton: hazard risk B+New HavenLincolnMiddleburyStarksboroRiptonMonktonBristol
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MiddleburyAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding5
New HavenAless damage than 85%river and rain flooding10
StarksboroB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding3
MonktonB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding1
BristolB+less damage than 65%river and rain flooding3
LincolnC+more damage than 63%river and rain flooding6
Ripton—508 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 Bristol 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 ↗
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 Bristol

Is Bristol at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bristol has lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #37 of 71 in Vermont. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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.

Does Bristol flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Bristol since 1998, $25K in all, or 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Bristol 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 Addison County, 0.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Bristol?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bristol’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 Bristol?

By FEMA money that reached Bristol, Severe Storm and Flooding (2019): $184K to the Town of Bristol for repairs.

Is Bristol at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Bristol’s rate for it is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bristol.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bristol’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.