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South royalton vermont 20040927Photo: The original uploader was Redjar at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Royalton · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Royalton faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Royalton gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns, #57 of 71 in Vermont. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1998.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 4%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 54%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#57 of 71 in Vermont
Hazard risk
B−#57 of 71
in Vermont · higher than 54% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
14
paid since 1998 · $619K
Flooded more than once
2
properties
Disasters paid out here
7
of 24 declared for Windsor County
By hazard

What Royalton 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 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Strong wind Tornadoes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning 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 Royalton’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Royalton, and Royalton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Royalton sits
Royalton
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− #57 of 71 in Vermont; higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Royalton’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%

The typical Vermont town has lower expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Royalton has more expected damage per building than 80% of Vermont towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Royalton: $915K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Royalton’s 2,750 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with South Royalton CDP (654 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 Royalton flood? Sometimes: 14 flood claims since 1998

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Royalton, from FEMA’s records: 8.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1998: 1 claim1999: 1 claim2000: 2 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 1 claim2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 1 claim2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 8 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199820002011
19982026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene8 claims · $587K
14
paid claims since 1998
$619K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$44K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Windsor County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
3flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Royalton

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$62K to the Town of Royalton for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$3.8M to the Town of Royalton for repairs
  3. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$47K to the Town of Royalton for repairs
  4. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$19K to the Town of Royalton for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene2 households applied for aid$39K aid approved$1.9M to the Town of Royalton for repairs8 flood claims paid for it, $587K
  6. 2003Severe Storms and Flooding$14K to the Town of Royalton for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Royalton for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in RoyaltonWindsor County only

Windsor County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Royalton archive →
Next door

Royalton and its neighbors

Royalton is 2nd of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Barnard: hazard risk C+Bethel: hazard risk CTunbridge: hazard risk CSharon: hazard risk C+Randolph: hazard risk B+Pomfret: not gradedStrafford: hazard risk CBarnardBethelTunbridgeSharonRandolphPomfretStraffordRoyalton
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RandolphB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding6
RoyaltonB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding14
BarnardC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding1
SharonC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding4
BethelCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding16
TunbridgeCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding21
StraffordCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding6
Pomfret—908 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 Royalton 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 Royalton

Is Royalton at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Royalton has higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #57 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Royalton flood?

Flood insurance has paid 14 claims in Royalton since 1998, $619K in all, or 8.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (8).

Is Royalton 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 Windsor County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Royalton?

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

By FEMA money that reached Royalton, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 1 households applied for aid, $2K approved, and $3.8M to the Town of Royalton for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 8 paid, $587K.

Is Royalton at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Royalton’s rate for it is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Royalton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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