Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Wheelock
Wheelock isn’t graded for hazard risk: Wheelock has 717 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Wheelock 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 Wheelock flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wheelock. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wheelock 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.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wheelock
Disasters that paid out in Wheelock itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Wheelock), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$625K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$300 aid approved$119K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
- 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$6K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
- 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$4K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$307K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$37K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
Show all 7
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$27K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs
Caledonia County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Old photos of Wheelock after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wheelock archive →Wheelock and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danville | A−less damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Lyndon | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 80 |
| Sheffield | — | 573 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Stannard | — | 228 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Greensboro | — | 633 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Sutton | — | 790 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.
Get ready for what Wheelock 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 Wheelock
Is Wheelock 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 Wheelock?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wheelock’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 Wheelock?
By FEMA money that reached Wheelock, Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2024): 1 households applied for aid, $4K approved, and $625K to the Town of Wheelock for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wheelock.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wheelock’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.