59 flood insurance claims·$789,179 paid·5 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 Grand Isle 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.
52% of Grand Isle County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
48 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 4 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 35 claims and $595,641 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Grand Isle County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Vermont flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 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 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Dec 22, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Henri | Aug 22, 2021 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | May 4, 2018 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Oct 29, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 20, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
13 since 1996: 2 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 4 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 13, 2011 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | May 1, 2011 | $3.0M |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jun 1, 2011 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 20, 2007 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Apr 23, 2001 | $5,000 |
| Flood | May 1, 2001 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 1998 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Apr 1, 1998 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Lakeshore Flood · Apr 13, 2011. Record Flooding occurred along the shores of Lake Champlain from mid-April to mid-June. NWS Flood Stages for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) gages on Lake Champlain at the ECHO Center in Burlington, VT and Rouses Point, NY are 100.0 feet and were surpassed on April 13th and finally receded below flood stage on June 18th. ||Major flooding occurs with lake levels at or above 101.5 feet, which were surpa…
Lakeshore Flood · May 1, 2011. Record Flooding occurred along the shores of Lake Champlain from mid-April to mid-June. NWS Flood Stages for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) gages on Lake Champlain at the ECHO Center in Burlington, VT and Rouses Point, NY are 100.0 feet and were surpassed on April 13th and finally receded below flood stage on June 18th. ||Major flooding occurs with lake levels at or above 101.5 feet, which were surpa…
Lakeshore Flood · Jun 1, 2011. Record Flooding occurred along the shores of Lake Champlain from mid-April to mid-June. NWS Flood Stages for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) gages on Lake Champlain at the ECHO Center in Burlington, VT and Rouses Point, NY are 100.0 feet and were surpassed on April 13th and finally receded below flood stage on June 18th. ||Major flooding occurs with lake levels at or above 101.5 feet, which were surpa…
Lakeshore Flood · Apr 20, 2007. The melting of snow from an above normal snow pack established in February, March and early April, as well as several rain events during the latter half of April, contributed to a significant run-off into streams and rivers of the Lake Champlain basin, which eventually deposited into Lake Champlain.|Lake Champlain had been rising steadily since mid month, and at 7:15 pm LST on April 20th, finally exceeded its floo…
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 Grand Isle 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.