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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Mendon · FEMA

FEMA puts Mendon’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mendon gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 21 claims here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 85%Hurricanes 5%Strong wind 3%

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 86%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in Vermont · lower than 86% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
85% of expected building damage
Flood claims
21
paid since 2011 · $484K
Disasters paid out here
7
of 19 declared for Rutland County

What stands out about Mendon’s natural hazards

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

Lower expected damage than 86% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.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 0.7% of the damage it expects.Remembers 201110 flood claims were paid for 2011 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Mendon 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

85%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Earthquakes Tornadoes Ice storms Winter storms Landslides top 2% Lightning Wildfire Hail Cold waves Heat waves Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 8% of Mendon’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 Mendon’s grade

River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mendon, and Mendon’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mendon sits
Mendon
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding85%Hurricanes5%Everything else10%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $443K a year in losses across Mendon: $367K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mendon’s 1,149 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Killington town (1,407 residents) and Shrewsbury town (1,096 residents) and Killington Village CDP (861 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 Mendon flood? Sometimes: 21 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mendon, from FEMA’s records: 33.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 10 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 10 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims201120192023
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene10 claims · $170K
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding10 claims · $313K
21
paid claims since 2011
$484K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$23K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Rutland County.
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mendon

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides5 households applied for aid$36K aid approved10 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$15K to the Town of Mendon for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  3. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$9K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene17 households applied for aid$24K aid approved$2.0M to the Town of Mendon for repairs10 flood claims paid for it, $170K
  5. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
  6. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$60K to the Town of Mendon for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MendonRutland County only

Rutland County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Mendon archive →
Next door

Mendon and its neighbors

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

Killington: hazard risk ARutland: hazard risk A+Shrewsbury: hazard risk APlymouth: not gradedKillingtonRutlandShrewsburyPlymouthMendon
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RutlandA+less damage than 96%river and rain flooding7
KillingtonAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding—
ShrewsburyAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding21
MendonAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding21
Plymouth—533 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 Mendon 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 Mendon

Is Mendon at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mendon has lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). 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 Mendon flood?

Flood insurance has paid 21 claims in Mendon since 2011, $484K in all, or 33.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (10).

Is Mendon 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 Rutland County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Mendon?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mendon, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 17 households applied for aid, $24K approved, and $2.0M to the Town of Mendon for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 10 paid, $170K.

Is Mendon at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Mendon’s rate for it is lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mendon.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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