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Mount holly vermont 20040731Photo: Jared C. Benedict. (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Mount Holly · FEMA

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

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Holly gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 4%Strong wind 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

less than 50%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 50% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
7
paid since 2011 · $170K
Disasters paid out here
10
of 19 declared for Rutland County
By hazard

What Mount Holly 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

90%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Wildfire Landslides 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 9% of Mount Holly’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 Mount Holly’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mount Holly, and Mount Holly’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mount Holly sits
Mount Holly
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding90%Hurricanes4%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $522K a year in losses across Mount Holly: $412K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mount Holly’s 1,385 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Wallingford town (2,129 residents) and Wallingford CDP (818 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 Mount Holly flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mount Holly, from FEMA’s records: 6.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 64% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 3 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 1 claim2023: 3 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims201120222023
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene3 claims · $15K
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding3 claims · $119K
7
paid claims since 2011
$170K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$24K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mount Holly 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

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mount Holly

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$17K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides27 households applied for aid$226K aid approved$1.0M to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  3. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$58K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$39K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  5. 2014Severe Winter Storm$27K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  6. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$20K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2011Tropical Storm Irene25 households applied for aid$47K aid approved$299K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $15K
  2. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$26K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  3. 2001Snow$3K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
  4. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$9K to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Mount HollyRutland 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 Mount Holly after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Mount Holly archive →
Next door

Mount Holly and its neighbors

Mount Holly is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Wallingford: hazard risk B−Ludlow: hazard risk C+Shrewsbury: hazard risk AWeston: not gradedPlymouth: not gradedMount Tabor: not gradedWallingfordLudlowShrewsburyWestonPlymouthMount TaborMount Holly
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ShrewsburyAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding21
WallingfordB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding27
Mount HollyB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding7
LudlowC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding49
Weston—685 residents; we grade 1,000+
Plymouth—533 residents; we grade 1,000+
Mount Tabor—304 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 Mount Holly 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 Mount Holly

Is Mount Holly at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Holly has lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Mount Holly flood?

Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Mount Holly since 2011, $170K in all, or 6.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 64% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (3).

Is Mount Holly 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 Mount Holly?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mount Holly, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 27 households applied for aid, $226K approved, and $1.0M to the Town of Mount Holly for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 3 paid, $15K.

Is Mount Holly at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Mount Holly’s rate for it is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mount Holly.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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