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Winhall Memorial Library, Winhall VTPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Winhall · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Winhall than in 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Winhall gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 86%Hurricanes 7%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

less than 84%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in Vermont · lower than 84% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
5
paid since 2011 · $111K
Disasters paid out here
5
of 18 declared for Bennington County
By hazard

What Winhall 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

86%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

7%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 17 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Lightning top 4% Winter storms Landslides top 5% 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 21% of Winhall’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 Winhall’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Winhall, and Winhall’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 7% (higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Winhall sits
Winhall
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hurricanes7%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $765K a year in losses across Winhall: $584K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Winhall’s 1,182 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Peru town (531 residents) and Landgrove town (177 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 Winhall flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Winhall, from FEMA’s records: 3.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 52% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 5 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2011
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irene5 claims · $111K
5
paid claims since 2011
$111K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$22K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Bennington County.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Winhall

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$384K to the Town of Winhall for repairs
  2. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$11K to the Town of Winhall for repairs
  3. 2011Tropical Storm Irene6 households applied for aid$7K aid approved$184K to the Town of Winhall for repairs5 flood claims paid for it, $111K
  4. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Winhall for repairs
  5. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Winhall for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WinhallBennington County only

Bennington County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Winhall archive →
Next door

Winhall and its neighbors

Winhall has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Manchester: hazard risk B+Stratton: not gradedSunderland: hazard risk C−Jamaica: not gradedLondonderry: hazard risk C+Peru: not gradedDorset: hazard risk B+ManchesterStrattonSunderlandJamaicaLondonderryPeruDorsetWinhall
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WinhallA−less damage than 84%river and rain flooding5
DorsetB+less damage than 67%river and rain flooding6
ManchesterB+less damage than 66%river and rain flooding29
LondonderryC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding31
SunderlandC−more damage than 77%river and rain flooding3
Stratton—532 residents; we grade 1,000+
Jamaica—882 residents; we grade 1,000+
Peru—434 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 Winhall 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 Winhall

Is Winhall at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Winhall has lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (7%). 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 Winhall flood?

Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Winhall since 2011, $111K in all, or 3.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 52% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (5).

Is Winhall 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 Bennington County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Winhall?

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

By FEMA money that reached Winhall, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): $384K to the Town of Winhall for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 5 paid, $111K.

Is Winhall at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Winhall’s rate for it is lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Winhall.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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