Wisconsin Heights Battlefield · Photo: Samuel Marsden Brookes · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Roxbury faces less hazard damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Roxbury gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%), then tornadoes (11%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What stands out about Roxbury’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Roxbury 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
Tornadoes
Hail
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.
What’s behind Roxbury’s grade
River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Roxbury, and Roxbury’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 11% (higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Roxbury’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Roxbury: $820K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Roxbury flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Roxbury. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Roxbury isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dane County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Roxbury
Disasters that paid out in Roxbury itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Roxbury), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$10K to the Town of Roxbury for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$23K to the Town of Roxbury for repairs
- 2008Record Snow and Near Record Snow$5K to the Town of Roxbury for repairs
- 2000Snow$2K to the Town of Roxbury for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$46K to the Town of Roxbury for repairs
Dane County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Roxbury after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Roxbury archive →Roxbury and its neighbors
Roxbury is 2nd of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Roxbury | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Berry | B+less damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Prairie du Sac | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Mazomanie | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 44 |
| Sauk City | C−more damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | — |
| West Point | Dmore damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Dane | — | not graded yet | |
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 Roxbury 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Roxbury
Is Roxbury at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Roxbury has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and tornadoes (11%). 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.
Is Roxbury 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 Dane County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Roxbury?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Roxbury’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 Roxbury?
By FEMA money that reached Roxbury, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2000): $46K to the Town of Roxbury for repairs.
Is Roxbury at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Roxbury’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Roxbury.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Roxbury’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.