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Whitingham Antiques and Collectibles, Whitingham VTPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Whitingham · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Whitingham than in 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Whitingham gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 2000.

River and rain flooding 82%Hurricanes 8%Tornadoes 4%

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 71%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 71% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
12
paid since 2000 · $163K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Disasters paid out here
6
of 21 declared for Windham County

What stands out about Whitingham’s natural hazards

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

Lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Moved out of harm’s way1 flood-prone property bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Whitingham 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

82%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Landslides 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 15% of Whitingham’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 Whitingham’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Whitingham, and Whitingham’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Whitingham sits
Whitingham
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Hurricanes8%Tornadoes4%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $547K a year in losses across Whitingham: $413K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Whitingham’s 1,344 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Jacksonville village (213 residents) and Whitingham CDP (91 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 Whitingham flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 2000

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Whitingham, from FEMA’s records: 13.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 78% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2000: 1 claim2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 1 claim2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 9 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200020072011
20002026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene9 claims · $152K
12
paid claims since 2000
$163K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$14K
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

Whitingham 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.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1flood-prone property bought out and cleared
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Whitingham

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

  1. 2011Tropical Storm Irene34 households applied for aid$88K aid approved$932K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs9 flood claims paid for it, $152K
  2. 2008Severe Winter Storm$215K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs
  3. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$118K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  4. 2003Severe Storms and Flooding$27K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$7K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs
  6. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$92K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WhitinghamWindham 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 Whitingham after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Whitingham archive →
Next door

Whitingham and its neighbors

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

Readsboro: not gradedWilmington: hazard risk B−Halifax: not gradedReadsboroWilmingtonHalifaxWhitingham
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WhitinghamB+less damage than 71%river and rain flooding12
WilmingtonB−less damage than 53%river and rain flooding42
Readsboro—807 residents; we grade 1,000+
Halifax—847 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 Whitingham 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 ↗
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 Whitingham

Is Whitingham at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Whitingham has lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) 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.

Does Whitingham flood?

Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Whitingham since 2000, $163K in all, or 13.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 78% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (9).

Is Whitingham 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 Whitingham?

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

By FEMA money that reached Whitingham, Tropical Storm Irene (2011): 34 households applied for aid, $88K approved, and $932K to the Town of Whitingham for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 9 paid, $152K.

Is Whitingham at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Whitingham’s rate for it is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Whitingham.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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