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Moxley Covered BridgeMoxley Covered Bridge · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Chelsea · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Chelsea faces more hazard damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chelsea gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 1989.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 3%Strong wind 1%

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

more than 71%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C
in Vermont · higher than 71% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
17
paid since 1989 · $327K
Flooded more than once
2
properties · 1 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
6
of 31 declared for Orange County

What stands out about Chelsea’s natural hazards

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

Landslides: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for landslides here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 0.4% of the damage it expects.Moved out of harm’s way3 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Chelsea 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

92%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Tornadoes Winter storms Landslides top 2% Wildfire Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Chelsea’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chelsea, and Chelsea’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Chelsea sits
Chelsea
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes3%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $593K a year in losses across Chelsea: $510K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Chelsea’s 1,233 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Tunbridge town (1,337 residents) and Strafford town (1,094 residents) and Vershire town (672 residents) and Chelsea CDP (342 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 Chelsea flood? Sometimes: 17 flood claims since 1989

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chelsea, from FEMA’s records: 23.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1989: 1 claim1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 1 claim2009: 3 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 4 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 1 claim2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 0 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 5 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200920112023
19892026
Biggest named events
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding5 claims · $170K
  • Hurricane Irene3 claims · $50K
17
paid claims since 1989
$327K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$19K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1)Flooded 2+ times
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Orange County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
3flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chelsea

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides44 households applied for aid$246K aid approved$776K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$56K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  3. 2014Severe Winter Storm$12K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
  4. 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$4K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene1 households applied for aid$6K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $50K
  6. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$70K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ChelseaOrange County only

Orange County has had 31 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Chelsea archive →
Next door

Chelsea and its neighbors

Chelsea is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Washington: hazard risk BTunbridge: hazard risk CVershire: not gradedBrookfield: hazard risk C+WashingtonTunbridgeVershireBrookfieldChelsea
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WashingtonBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding1
BrookfieldC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding—
TunbridgeCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding21
ChelseaCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding17
Vershire—842 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 Chelsea 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 Chelsea

Is Chelsea at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chelsea has higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Chelsea flood?

Flood insurance has paid 17 claims in Chelsea since 1989, $327K in all, or 23.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Vermont/New York Flooding (5).

Is Chelsea 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 Orange County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Chelsea?

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

By FEMA money that reached Chelsea, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 44 households applied for aid, $246K approved, and $776K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs. By flood claims, Vermont/New York Flooding: 5 paid, $170K.

Is Chelsea at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Chelsea’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chelsea.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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