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FirstCongChurchTownshendPhoto: VTviking · CC BY-SA 3.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Townshend · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Townshend than in 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Townshend gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 91%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 70%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 70% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
14
paid since 1996 · $846K
Disasters paid out here
8
of 21 declared for Windham County
By hazard

What Townshend 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

91%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Landslides top 2% Strong wind Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire 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 10% of Townshend’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 Townshend’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Townshend, and Townshend’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Townshend sits
Townshend
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $750K a year in losses across Townshend: $624K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Townshend’s 1,291 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Grafton town (645 residents) and Brookline town (540 residents) and Windham town (449 residents) and Athens town (380 residents) and Townshend CDP (199 residents) and Harmonyville CDP (92 residents) and Grafton CDP (49 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 Townshend flood? Sometimes: 14 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Townshend, from FEMA’s records: 17.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 2 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 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: 4 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199620112023
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene8 claims · $474K
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding4 claims · $364K
14
paid claims since 1996
$846K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$60K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Townshend 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

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Townshend

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$18K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides7 households applied for aid$21K aid approved$302K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
  3. 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$256K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene17 households applied for aid$51K aid approved$966K to the Town of Townshend for repairs8 flood claims paid for it, $474K
  5. 2008Severe Winter Storm$30K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
  6. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$129K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
  2. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$244K to the Town of Townshend for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in TownshendWindham 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 Townshend after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Townshend archive →
Next door

Townshend and its neighbors

Townshend has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Wardsboro: not gradedWindham: not gradedGrafton: not gradedAthens: not gradedNewfane: hazard risk C−Jamaica: not gradedWardsboroWindhamGraftonAthensNewfaneJamaicaTownshend
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
TownshendCmore damage than 70%river and rain flooding14
NewfaneC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding21
Wardsboro—820 residents; we grade 1,000+
Windham—594 residents; we grade 1,000+
Grafton—666 residents; we grade 1,000+
Athens—431 residents; we grade 1,000+
Jamaica—882 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 Townshend 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 Townshend

Is Townshend at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Townshend has higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Townshend flood?

Flood insurance has paid 14 claims in Townshend since 1996, $846K in all, or 17.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (8).

Is Townshend 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 Townshend?

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

By FEMA money that reached Townshend, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 17 households applied for aid, $51K approved, and $966K to the Town of Townshend for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 8 paid, $474K.

Is Townshend at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Townshend’s rate for it is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Townshend.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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