Risk-assessment baseline packet (county-level sections from Essex County). Town FIPS 5000902125, Essex County. Release 2026-10, data as of 2026-09-30.
Summary
Plan status as of 2026-09-30: Approved, expires 2027-05-16. Plan: Unified Towns and Gores of Essex County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (FEMA plan 108307), approved 2022-05-17.
Since the plan was approved on 2022-05-17: 8 new hazard declarations (7 incidents): DR-4695-VT (Severe Storm and Flooding), EM-3595-VT (Flooding), DR-4720-VT (Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4762-VT (Severe Storm and Flooding), DR-4770-VT (Severe Winter Storm), EM-3609-VT (Tropical Depression Debby), DR-4810-VT (Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4826-VT (Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides).
NOAA Storm Events records since that date (county-level): 62 records (data through 2026-06-30).
Highest expected annual loss (FEMA National Risk Index, modeled total; see B1-a): Inland Flooding ($2,322,104 a year), Cold Wave ($383,470) and Hurricane ($171,522).
Repetitive-loss flood properties now (this town): FMA RL 0, SRL 0 (44 CFR 77.2); any definition: 0.
The packet's tables are organized by the items of FEMA's Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool, Element B (B1-a to B2-c); the summaries below follow the same order.
What changed since your last plan (approved 2022-05-17)
- New federal declarations:
- 8 new hazard declarations (7 incidents): DR-4695-VT (Severe Storm and Flooding), EM-3595-VT (Flooding), DR-4720-VT (Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4762-VT (Severe Storm and Flooding), DR-4770-VT (Severe Winter Storm), EM-3609-VT (Tropical Depression Debby), DR-4810-VT (Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4826-VT (Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides)
- Storm Events records since approval (Essex County, county-level):
- 62 records (data through 2026-06-30)
- Repetitive loss now (this town):
- FMA RL 0, SRL 0 (44 CFR 77.2); any definition: 0
- Repetitive loss scope:
- This town's NFIP community only. The other participants of the town's plan (Avery's gore; Ferdinand town; Lewis town; Warner's grant; Warren's gore) are not counted here; the B2-c county table lists a community only when FEMA's multiple-loss file has properties for it.
- Repeat-flood change:
- this release sets the baseline count.
What the packet contains
Sections in FEMA checklist order; each heading names the review item its tables support. Full tables are in the downloads above.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-a Hazard identification
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: whole section.
15 of the 18 National Risk Index hazards apply here.
Not applicable to this county per NRI, with no federal declaration and no Storm Events record since 1996: coastal flooding, tsunami and volcanic activity. That is the evidence for leaving them out of the plan.
Highest expected annual loss (NRI, modeled): Inland Flooding, Cold Wave and Hurricane.
Not covered by NRI (local data needed): dam failure (incl. upstream dams); levee failure; flash flood as its own subtype; ice jams; debris flows; erosion (riverine and coastal); land subsidence and sinkholes; expansive soils.
The state hazard mitigation plan also lists hazards for this county; FEMA asks the plan to explain any hazard it leaves out.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-b Hazard location
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: whole section.
- Avalanche, Earthquake, Hurricane, Landslide, Tornado and Wildfire: Varies within the county: the census tracts with the highest National Risk Index rating for this hazard are listed. FEMA's Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT) maps the National Risk Index for every tract (https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-and-planning-tool).
- Cold Wave, Drought, Hail, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Lightning, Strong Wind and Winter Weather: Affects the whole county; national data give no location within it.
- Inland Flooding: The FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the required location source for flooding. See the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (https://msc.fema.gov) for this county.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-c Hazard extent
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: whole section.
Storm Events records for 11 of the 20 NOAA event-type groups mapped to the 18 hazards, with the scale, observed range and worst recorded event for each; the others say which local data are needed.
- Hail: 1.75 in hail, 2011-05-27
- Thunderstorm Wind: 78 kt (90 mph) estimated, Thunderstorm Wind, 2000-05-09
- Tornado: F1 tornado, 1982-05-19, 0.1 mi path length (whole path, pre-1996), 100 yd wide, $25,000 property; crops not recorded (1982 dollars)
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-d Previous occurrences
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: declarations, statewide block and Storm Events history.
Federal declarations for this area: 30 declarations covering 26 separate hazard incidents counted in this packet; each with type, dates and county Public Assistance dollars.
New since the last plan (approved 2022-05-17): DR-4826-VT, DR-4810-VT, EM-3609-VT, DR-4770-VT, DR-4762-VT, DR-4720-VT, EM-3595-VT and DR-4695-VT.
2 statewide declarations listed separately.
Hazards with no Storm Events record and no federal declaration are stated as such (7 of 18).
Storm Events history: 495 records (notable ones in the PDF, all of them in the Excel file).
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-e Probability of future events
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: whole section.
FEMA annualized frequency (modeled) for each hazard, with a descriptor from a scale defined in the packet.
- Highly likely: Lightning and Winter Weather
- Likely: Cold Wave, Hail, Heat Wave, Inland Flooding, Landslide and Strong Wind
- Possible: Avalanche, Hurricane, Ice Storm and Tornado
Historical frequency by intensity band (tornado, hail, wind): 9 bands from Storm Events.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-f Hazards that vary across jurisdictions
Range of census tract risk scores within the area for 15 of the 18 hazards (3 tracts; rated tracts only).
1 jurisdiction: plan clock, repeat-flood count, Public Assistance dollars and event records naming the place (starting figures from federal data).
Supports FEMA checklist items B2-a and B2-b Vulnerability and potential impacts
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: NRI exposure and expected annual loss; since-plan figures use the town's own approval date.
The packet's table gives county-level starting figures; the plan describes impacts for each jurisdiction and its own assets.
Storm Events damage since 2022-05-17: $623,000 in county-coded records (16 records); $195,000 reported for the zone (46 zone records). Data through 2026-06-30; nominal dollars.
Local data needed
To gather:
- Critical facilities and lifelines per hazard
- A problem statement per jurisdiction per hazard
- Changes in development in hazard-prone areas since the last approval, or a statement of none (E1-a)
- Future assets
- Vermont Flood Ready Atlas and Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) river corridors for town flood and erosion locations.
- The Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF) Flood Hazard Summary gives E911 building counts in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) per town.
- Vermont Dam Inventory for dams in and upstream of the town.
- Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) hazard mitigation planning resources and the 2023 Vermont State Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Supports FEMA checklist item B2-a Vulnerability (county context)
Inherited from Essex County, county-level (county FIPS 50009); scope: whole section.
Population 5,893; building value $1,812,776,589 and agriculture value $16,362,066 (total, not at risk).
National Risk Index rating Very Low; social vulnerability Very Low; community resilience Relatively Low.
Supports FEMA checklist item B2-c Repetitive loss properties
Repetitive-loss properties (Essex County, county-level), FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2): 0 repetitive loss, 0 severe repetitive loss. NFIP insurance definition: 0 and 0.
Mitigated 0; insured 0; NFIP data as of 2026-08-02. Counts by occupancy group and for each jurisdiction are in the packet.