Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Sheffield
Sheffield isn’t graded for hazard risk: Sheffield has 573 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1995.
What Sheffield 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
Hurricanes
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.
Does Sheffield flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1995
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sheffield, from FEMA’s records.
Sheffield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Caledonia County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sheffield
Disasters that paid out in Sheffield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Sheffield), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides16 households applied for aid$53K aid approved$163K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides14 households applied for aid$46K aid approved$97K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$3K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storms$18K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene13 households applied for aid$9K aid approved$185K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
Show all 10
- 2011Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$14K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$23K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
- 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$26K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs
Caledonia County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Old photos of Sheffield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sheffield archive →Sheffield and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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.
Get ready for what Sheffield faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Sheffield
Does Sheffield flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Sheffield since 1995, $55K in all.
Is Sheffield 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 Caledonia County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Sheffield?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sheffield’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 Sheffield?
By FEMA money that reached Sheffield, Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2024): 16 households applied for aid, $53K approved, and $163K to the Town of Sheffield for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sheffield.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sheffield’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.