Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Guilford

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
Christ Church Guilford VermontPhoto: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Guilford · FEMA

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

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Guilford gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2000.

River and rain flooding 86%Hurricanes 6%Tornadoes 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 51%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Vermont · lower than 51% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 2000 · $35K
Disasters paid out here
6
of 21 declared for Windham County
By hazard

What Guilford 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

86%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Landslides top 3% Lightning Wildfire 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 10% of Guilford’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 Guilford’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Guilford, and Guilford’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Guilford sits
Guilford
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hurricanes6%Tornadoes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $816K a year in losses across Guilford: $630K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Guilford’s 2,120 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Vernon town (2,192 residents) and Algiers CDP (186 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 Guilford flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2000

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Guilford, from FEMA’s records: 2.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2000: 1 claim2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200020112018
20002026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene1 claim · $32K
3
paid claims since 2000
$35K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$12K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Windham County.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Guilford

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides6 households applied for aid$28K aid approved
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Irene29 households applied for aid$27K aid approved$586K to the Town of Guilford for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $32K
  3. 2008Severe Winter Storm$33K to the Town of Guilford for repairs
  4. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$16K to the Town of Guilford for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$6K to the Town of Guilford for repairs
  6. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$43K to the Town of Guilford for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in GuilfordWindham County only

Windham County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Guilford archive →
Next door

Guilford and its neighbors

Guilford is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Halifax: not gradedVernon: hazard risk B−Brattleboro: hazard risk B−Leyden: not gradedHalifaxVernonBrattleboroLeydenGuilford
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
VernonB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding2
GuilfordB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding3
BrattleboroB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding50
Halifax—847 residents; we grade 1,000+
Leyden—637 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 Guilford 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 ↗
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 Guilford

Is Guilford at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Guilford has lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (6%). 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 Guilford flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Guilford since 2000, $35K in all, or 2.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 56% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (1).

Is Guilford 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 Windham County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Guilford?

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

By FEMA money that reached Guilford, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 29 households applied for aid, $27K approved, and $586K to the Town of Guilford for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 1 paid, $32K.

Is Guilford at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Guilford’s rate for it is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Guilford.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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