271 flood insurance claims·$6.1M paid·13 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 Caledonia 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Caledonia County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 37 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 28 general flood events. Recent severe impacts include catastrophic flash flooding on July 30, 2024, driven by a cluster of nearly stationary thunderstorms that dropped 4 to 8 inches of rain and severely affected towns including Lyndon and St. Johnsbury. Additional localized flash flooding occurred on July 10, 2025, from tropical showers and thunderstorms producing 4 to 5 plus inches of excessive rainfall.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that homeowners and buyers in designated high-risk areas face the most significant financial exposure. Zone A leads the county with 184 claims, averaging a payout of $31,567 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties categorized as Zone X have also experienced notable losses, with 30 claims averaging a $23,810 payout and an average recorded water depth of 22 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $38,213 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Real estate agents, journalists, and homeowners should pay the closest attention to properties within Zone A and Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate both frequent inundation and substantial average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Caledonia County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
207 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 11 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 70 claims and $1.4M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and 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.
49 NOAA storm reports from Caledonia County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Vermont flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 13 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Depression Debby | Aug 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 29, 2024 |
| Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 9, 2024 |
| Flooding | Jul 9, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jul 7, 2023 |
| Tropical Storm Henri | Aug 22, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 29, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 15, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
65 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 28 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | $125,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2024 | $2.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2024 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2024 | $4.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2024 | $1.0M · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2025. A weak cold front slowly moved across northern NY and VT during the afternoon and evening hours of July 10th. Several rounds of tropical showers and thunderstorms traversed the area with a few storms pulsing to severe limits and localized excessive rainfall (4-5+ inches) in NE VT leading to localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2024. A cluster of nearly stationary thunderstorms affected portions of Caledonia, Essex and Orleans Counties in northeastern Vermont during the early to mid morning hours of July 30, 2024. This produced rainfall amounts from 4 to as much as 8 inches in these areas which led to severe, and in some cases catastrophic flash flooding. The department of highways, state/local emergency management, and NWS Storm Surveys confi…
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2024. The remnants of TS Beryl combined with deep tropical moisture and a stationary front draped across the region produced multiple rounds of heavy showers and storms. This led to numerous reports of flash flooding, some locally severe across a roughly 50 mile swath through Chittenden, Washington, Lamoille, Caledonia, Orleans and Essex Counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2024. The remnants of TS Beryl combined with deep tropical moisture and a stationary front draped across the region produced multiple rounds of heavy showers and storms. This led to numerous reports of flash flooding, some locally severe across a roughly 50 mile swath through Chittenden, Washington, Lamoille, Caledonia, Orleans and Essex Counties.
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 Caledonia 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.