Connecticut Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of Connecticut's 9 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Capitol Planning Region (score 97.4 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $1.2 billion a year.
OpenFEMA lists 41 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Connecticut since 1954 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is FM-5542-CT, Hawthorne Fire, declared 24 October 2024.
Live weather alerts for Connecticut Latest FEMA declarations All official warnings
Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreHurricane 9 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $45 million |
| 2 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $37 million |
| 3 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Relatively High | $24 million |
| 4 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Relatively High | $22 million |
| 5 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $22 million |
| 6 | Capitol Planning Region | Relatively High | $15 million |
| 7 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $6.6 million |
| 8 | Northwest Hills Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $6.2 million |
| 9 | Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $6.3 million |
Tornado 9 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capitol Planning Region | Relatively High | $8.2 million |
| 2 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $3.5 million |
| 3 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $2.9 million |
| 4 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $2.8 million |
| 5 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Low | $1.5 million |
| 6 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Relatively Low | $1.2 million |
| 7 | Northwest Hills Planning Region | Relatively Low | $1.2 million |
| 8 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Relatively Low | $881,755 |
| 9 | Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Low | $660,382 |
Inland flooding 9 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capitol Planning Region | Relatively High | $240 million |
| 2 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $183 million |
| 3 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $108 million |
| 4 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Relatively High | $101 million |
| 5 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Relatively High | $61 million |
| 6 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $52 million |
| 7 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $49 million |
| 8 | Northwest Hills Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $42 million |
| 9 | Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $24 million |
Coastal flooding 7 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Very High | $11 million |
| 2 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $9.2 million |
| 3 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | $6.7 million |
| 4 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $2.6 million |
| 5 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $1.3 million |
| 6 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Very Low | $26,824 |
| 7 | Capitol Planning Region | Very Low | $13,944 |
Wildfire 9 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capitol Planning Region | Very Low | $76,085 |
| 2 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Very Low | $42,936 |
| 3 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Very Low | $42,905 |
| 4 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Very Low | $39,157 |
| 5 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Very Low | $27,506 |
| 6 | Northwest Hills Planning Region | Very Low | $33,513 |
| 7 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Very Low | $27,689 |
| 8 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Very Low | $9,447 |
| 9 | Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Very Low | $13,613 |
Earthquake 9 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capitol Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $11 million |
| 2 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $8.5 million |
| 3 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | $6.6 million |
| 4 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Relatively Low | $3.0 million |
| 5 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Relatively Low | $3.2 million |
| 6 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Low | $2.0 million |
| 7 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Relatively Low | $1.4 million |
| 8 | Northwest Hills Planning Region | Relatively Low | $840,355 |
| 9 | Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Low | $710,729 |
Every Connecticut county, highest overall risk first
9| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capitol Planning Region | Relatively High | 97.4 | $302 million | Inland flooding | 30 | 32 |
| 2 | Western Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | 96.3 | $260 million | Inland flooding | 38 | 15 |
| 3 | South Central Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively High | 95.1 | $174 million | Hurricane | 34 | 7 |
| 4 | Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | 93.2 | $140 million | Inland flooding | 37 | 23 |
| 5 | Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | 91.8 | $104 million | Strong wind | 31 | 4 |
| 6 | Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | 88.6 | $83 million | Hurricane | 30 | 1 |
| 7 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Relatively Moderate | 83.8 | $63 million | Inland flooding | 31 | 10 |
| 8 | Northwest Hills Planning Region | Relatively Low | 79.6 | $54 million | Inland flooding | 33 | 27 |
| 9 | Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region | Relatively Low | 62.8 | $33 million | Hurricane | 31 | 7 |
Score: FEMA's national percentile (higher = more risk). Declarations: federal declarations that named the county since 1953, not counting COVID-19. Tornadoes: NOAA SPC tornadoes that touched the county, 1950–2025.
Latest federal declarations in Connecticut
Other states and territories
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What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index compares every US county with every other for 18 natural hazards, combining expected losses with social vulnerability and community resilience. It is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not the risk to any one property — for flood zones use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center ↗. Federal declarations exclude state declarations and SBA or USDA designations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Connecticut
Which county in Connecticut has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of Connecticut's 9 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Capitol Planning Region (score 97.4 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $1.2 billion a year.
Which Connecticut counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: Capitol Planning Region, South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which Connecticut counties are most at risk from hurricanes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index hurricane risk score: Western Connecticut Planning Region, South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Connecticut had?
OpenFEMA lists 41 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Connecticut since 1954 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is FM-5542-CT, Hawthorne Fire, declared 24 October 2024.