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Wallingford Main Street Historic DistrictWallingford Main Street Historic District · Photo: Mfwills · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Wallingford · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Wallingford as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wallingford gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 27 claims here since 1983.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 4%Strong wind 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

less than 50%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Vermont · lower than 50% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
27
paid since 1983 · $840K
Flooded more than once
2
properties
Disasters paid out here
9
of 19 declared for Rutland County

What stands out about Wallingford’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Moved out of harm’s way1 flood-prone property bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.Remembers 201115 flood claims were paid for 2011 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Wallingford 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 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Wildfire Landslides Hail 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 9% of Wallingford’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 Wallingford’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wallingford, and Wallingford’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Wallingford sits
Wallingford
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Wallingford’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%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $803K a year in losses across Wallingford: $633K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Wallingford’s 2,129 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Mount Holly town (1,385 residents) and Wallingford CDP (818 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 Wallingford flood? Sometimes: 27 flood claims since 1983

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wallingford, from FEMA’s records: 28.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 88% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1983: 1 claim1984: 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: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 15 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 10 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198320112023
19832026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene15 claims · $604K
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding9 claims · $223K
27
paid claims since 1983
$840K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$31K
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

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

Insurance rates: Rutland County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1flood-prone property bought out and cleared
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wallingford

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides36 households applied for aid$141K aid approved$116K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs10 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$172K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
  3. 2014Severe Winter Storm$14K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene56 households applied for aid$174K aid approved$457K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs15 flood claims paid for it, $604K
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$9K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
  6. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$13K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
  2. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$2K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
  3. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$6K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WallingfordRutland County only

Rutland County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Wallingford archive →
Next door

Wallingford and its neighbors

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

Clarendon: hazard risk A−Mount Holly: hazard risk B−Tinmouth: not gradedShrewsbury: hazard risk AClarendonMount HollyTinmouthShrewsburyWallingford
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ShrewsburyAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding21
ClarendonA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding1
Mount HollyB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding7
WallingfordB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding27
Tinmouth—827 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 Wallingford 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 Wallingford

Is Wallingford at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wallingford has lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. 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 Wallingford flood?

Flood insurance has paid 27 claims in Wallingford since 1983, $840K in all, or 28.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 88% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (15).

Is Wallingford 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 Rutland County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Wallingford?

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

By FEMA money that reached Wallingford, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 56 households applied for aid, $174K approved, and $457K to the Town of Wallingford for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 15 paid, $604K.

Is Wallingford at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Wallingford’s rate for it is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wallingford.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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