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Craftsbury Common - 9-13-25Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Craftsbury · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Craftsbury as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Craftsbury gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 3%Earthquakes 2%

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 59%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 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
10
of 29 declared for Orleans County
By hazard

What Craftsbury 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
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms top 5% Ice storms Lightning Tornadoes Wildfire Landslides top 4% 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 Craftsbury’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Craftsbury, and Craftsbury’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Craftsbury sits
Craftsbury
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Craftsbury’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 $592K a year in losses across Craftsbury: $507K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Craftsbury’s 1,343 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Irasburg town (1,233 residents) and Albany town (976 residents) and Lowell town (887 residents) and Lowell CDP (254 residents) and Albany village (166 residents) and Irasburg CDP (159 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 Craftsbury flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Orleans County.
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Craftsbury

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

  1. 2024Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$5K aid approved$33K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides13 households applied for aid$101K aid approved$1.1M to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  3. 2019Severe Storm and Flooding$81K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  4. 2014Severe Winter Storm$12K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$16K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  6. 2011Severe Storms and Flooding$22K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$50K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  2. 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$16K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  3. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
  4. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$6K to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CraftsburyOrleans County only

Orleans County has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Craftsbury archive →
Next door

Craftsbury and its neighbors

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

Wolcott: hazard risk C+Albany: not gradedEden: hazard risk B−Greensboro: not gradedHyde Park: hazard risk A−WolcottAlbanyEdenGreensboroHyde ParkCraftsbury
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Hyde ParkA−less damage than 84%river and rain flooding2
EdenB−less damage than 53%river and rain flooding—
WolcottC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding12
CraftsburyC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding0
Albany—934 residents; we grade 1,000+
Greensboro—633 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 Craftsbury 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 Craftsbury

Is Craftsbury at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Craftsbury has higher expected damage per building than 59% 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.

Is Craftsbury 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 Orleans County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Craftsbury?

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

By FEMA money that reached Craftsbury, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 13 households applied for aid, $101K approved, and $1.1M to the Town of Craftsbury for repairs.

Is Craftsbury at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Craftsbury’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Craftsbury.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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