112 flood insurance claims·$1.5M paid·8 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Bennington County, Vermont. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Standard riverine flooding and flash flooding from summer storms dominate the flood profile of Bennington County, which recorded 48 flood events, 30 flash flood events, and 1 tropical storm over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Heavy rainfall events, such as the severe storms on July 9–11, 2023, brought rainfall totals generally ranging between 2.50 and 5.00 inches—with localized amounts reaching around 6 inches across the southern Green Mountains—resulting in significant areal and flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in FEMA-designated Zone A experienced the highest frequency of claims with 62 payouts averaging $18,306 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. However, properties in Zone X unshaded also face financial risk, logging 14 claims with an average payout of $28,008 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X shaded properties recorded an average water depth of 11 inches across 7 claims. Consequently, homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, as well as structures in various Zone X classifications where significant water depths and claim payouts have also been documented.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
25% of Bennington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
83 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 5 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2011, with 54 claims and $972,521 paid, the year of Hurricane Irene.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
36 NOAA storm reports from Bennington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Vermont flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Depression Debby | Aug 8, 2024 |
| Flooding | Jul 9, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 7, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Henri | Aug 22, 2021 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Jul 29, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 15, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 29, 2017 |
| Tropical Storm Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
79 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 48 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2023 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 18, 2023. An area of low pressure tracked up the East Coast and intensified in the process as it brought widespread moderate to heavy rainfall across southern Vermont on December 18, 2023. The rain fell light to moderate in intensity during the early morning hours, then became heavier during the later morning and early afternoon hours before tapering off. Rainfall totals were between 2 and 4 inches. This rain led to both ar…
Flood · Jul 10, 2023. A strong upper-level system brought widespread rounds of showers and embedded thunderstorms to southern Vermont on July 9-11, 2023. The steadiest and heaviest rainfall occurred from the afternoon hours on July 9 through the morning hours on July 10. Rainfall totals generally ranged between 2.50 and 5.00 inches with some localized amounts of around 6 inches across the southern Green Mountains.||This rainfall result…
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2023. A strong upper-level system brought widespread rounds of showers and embedded thunderstorms to southern Vermont on July 9-11, 2023. The steadiest and heaviest rainfall occurred from the afternoon hours on July 9 through the morning hours on July 10. Rainfall totals generally ranged between 2.50 and 5.00 inches with some localized amounts of around 6 inches across the southern Green Mountains.||This rainfall result…
Flood · Jul 21, 2022. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of an eastward progressing cold front on July 21, 2022. A few became severe producing damaging wind gusts and hail. Heavy rain led to some street flooding in downtown Bennington.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Bennington County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.