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Wolcott VT 1-30-2026Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Wolcott · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Wolcott faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wolcott gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1995.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 3%Earthquakes 1%

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 57%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 57% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
12
paid since 1995 · $222K
Disasters paid out here
9
of 34 declared for Lamoille County
By hazard

What Wolcott 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

92%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms top 5% Ice storms Lightning Tornadoes Wildfire Landslides Hail Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Wolcott’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wolcott, and Wolcott’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Wolcott sits
Wolcott
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes3%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $649K a year in losses across Wolcott: $556K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Wolcott’s 1,670 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Elmore town (886 residents) and Wolcott CDP (176 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 Wolcott flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1995

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wolcott, from FEMA’s records: 15.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1995: 3 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 1 claim1998: 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: 2 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: 2 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199520112023
19952026
Biggest named events
  • The Vermont/New York Flooding4 claims · $93K
  • Hurricane Irene2 claims · $38K
12
paid claims since 1995
$222K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$18K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Lamoille County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
7flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wolcott

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

  1. 2024Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides11 households applied for aid$78K aid approved$457K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides60 households applied for aid$527K aid approved$1.7M to the Town of Wolcott for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2019Severe Storm and Flooding$598K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene15 households applied for aid$22K aid approved$18K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $38K
  5. 2011Severe Storms and Flooding8 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$52K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$74K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs
  2. 2001Snow$3K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs
  3. 1999Tropical Storm Floyd$3K to the Town of Wolcott for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WolcottLamoille County only

Lamoille County has had 34 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Wolcott archive →
Next door

Wolcott and its neighbors

Wolcott is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Elmore: not gradedCraftsbury: hazard risk C+Hyde Park: hazard risk A−Hardwick: hazard risk C+Greensboro: not gradedElmoreCraftsburyHyde ParkHardwickGreensboroWolcott
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Hyde ParkA−less damage than 84%river and rain flooding2
WolcottC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding12
CraftsburyC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding—
HardwickC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding60
Elmore—964 residents; we grade 1,000+
Greensboro—633 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 Wolcott 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 Wolcott

Is Wolcott at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wolcott has higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Wolcott flood?

Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Wolcott since 1995, $222K in all, or 15.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Vermont/New York Flooding (4).

Is Wolcott 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 Lamoille County, 1.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Wolcott?

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

By FEMA money that reached Wolcott, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 60 households applied for aid, $527K approved, and $1.7M to the Town of Wolcott for repairs. By flood claims, Vermont/New York Flooding: 4 paid, $93K.

Is Wolcott at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Wolcott’s rate for it is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wolcott.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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