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Congregational Church, Salisbury, VermontPhoto: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Salisbury · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Salisbury than in 89% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salisbury gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 78%Hurricanes 8%Earthquakes 6%

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 89%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 89% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
78% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 27 declared for Addison County
By hazard

What Salisbury 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

78%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Tornadoes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Wildfire Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Salisbury’s grade

River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salisbury, and Salisbury’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Salisbury sits
Salisbury
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding78%Hurricanes8%Earthquakes6%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $340K a year in losses across Salisbury: $263K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Salisbury’s 1,221 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Leicester town (990 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 Salisbury flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Salisbury. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Addison County.
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Salisbury

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$340K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$155K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
  3. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$8K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$32K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
  5. 2011Tropical Storm Irene2 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
  6. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$10K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$11K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
  2. 2001Snow$3K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SalisburyAddison County only

Addison County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Salisbury archive →
Next door

Salisbury and its neighbors

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

Cornwall: hazard risk AWhiting: not gradedRipton: not gradedLeicester: hazard risk AMiddlebury: hazard risk AGoshen: not gradedCornwallWhitingRiptonLeicesterMiddleburyGoshenSalisbury
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MiddleburyAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding5
CornwallAless damage than 90%river and rain flooding—
LeicesterAless damage than 89%river and rain flooding—
SalisburyAless damage than 89%river and rain flooding0
Whiting—532 residents; we grade 1,000+
Ripton—508 residents; we grade 1,000+
Goshen—142 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 Salisbury 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Salisbury

Is Salisbury at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salisbury has lower expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and hurricanes (8%). 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.

Is Salisbury 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 Addison County, 0.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Salisbury?

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

By FEMA money that reached Salisbury, Severe Storms and Flooding (2023): $340K to the Town of Salisbury for repairs.

Is Salisbury at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Salisbury’s rate for it is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salisbury.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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