Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Sheridan than in 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sheridan gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1978.
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 Sheridan 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
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 Sheridan’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sheridan, and Sheridan’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D #27 of 28 in Wyoming; higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Sheridan’s residents live in 7 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Wyoming town has lower expected damage than 55% of U.S. towns; within the state, Sheridan has more expected damage per building than 96% of Wyoming towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $12.4M a year in losses across Sheridan: $9.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Sheridan flood? Sometimes: 14 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sheridan, from FEMA’s records: 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Sheridan isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sheridan County.The storms Sheridan remembers
None of the 2 disasters declared for Sheridan County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sheridan itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19953 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19812 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20192 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Sheridan County has had 2 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sheridan County, 2003–2024.
Old photos of Sheridan after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sheridan archive →Get ready for what Sheridan 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.
- 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 Sheridan
Is Sheridan at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sheridan has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Sheridan flood?
Flood insurance has paid 14 claims in Sheridan since 1978, $48K in all, or 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Sheridan 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 Sheridan County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Sheridan?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sheridan’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Sheridan at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Sheridan’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sheridan.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sheridan’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.