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Church in Newfane, Vermont fall 2009Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Newfane · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Newfane than in 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Newfane gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 21 claims here since 1982.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 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 79%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 79% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
21
paid since 1982 · $670K
Disasters paid out here
9
of 21 declared for Windham County
By hazard

What Newfane 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 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Landslides top 3% Lightning Hail Wildfire 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 10% of Newfane’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 Newfane’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Newfane, and Newfane’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Newfane sits
Newfane
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Newfane: $845K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Newfane’s 1,645 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Newfane village (87 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 Newfane flood? Sometimes: 21 flood claims since 1982

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Newfane, from FEMA’s records: 18.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 83% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1982: 1 claim1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 2 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 14 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 3 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200020112021
19822026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene14 claims · $575K
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding1 claim · $9K
21
paid claims since 1982
$670K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$32K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Newfane 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

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Newfane

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$630K to the Town of Newfane for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$277K to the Town of Newfane for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$154K to the Town of Newfane for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$3.0M to the Town of Newfane for repairs14 flood claims paid for it, $575K
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$424K to the Town of Newfane for repairs
  6. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$16K to the Town of Newfane for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2003Severe Storms and Flooding$10K to the Town of Newfane for repairs
  2. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Newfane for repairs
  3. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$384K to the Town of Newfane for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in NewfaneWindham 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 Newfane after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Newfane archive →
Next door

Newfane and its neighbors

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

Brookline: not gradedDummerston: hazard risk B−Dover: hazard risk AWardsboro: not gradedTownshend: hazard risk CBrooklineDummerstonDoverWardsboroTownshendNewfane
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
DoverAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding7
DummerstonB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding—
TownshendCmore damage than 70%river and rain flooding14
NewfaneC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding21
Brookline—531 residents; we grade 1,000+
Wardsboro—820 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 Newfane 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 Newfane

Is Newfane at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Newfane has higher expected damage per building than 79% 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 Newfane flood?

Flood insurance has paid 21 claims in Newfane since 1982, $670K in all, or 18.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 83% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (14).

Is Newfane 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 Newfane?

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

By FEMA money that reached Newfane, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): $3.0M to the Town of Newfane for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 14 paid, $575K.

Is Newfane at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Newfane’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Newfane.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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