Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 96.3 out of 100, higher than about 96% of US counties, with inland (river and flash) flooding, strong winds and hurricanes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $260 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 38 federal disaster declarations that included Western Connecticut Planning Region since 1978, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is FM-5542-CT (Hawthorne Fire, declared 24 October 2024). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 15 tornadoes touching Western Connecticut Planning Region from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 620,462 Buildings worth $165 billion Area 655 sq mi Risk rank in Connecticut 2 of 9 FIPS 09190
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland flooding | Relatively High | 98.1 | $183 million | about 3.5 a year | 99 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 97.8 | $5.8 million | about 4.5 a year | 152 |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | 97.0 | $45 million | about once every 7.2 years | 46 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 94.7 | $1.8 million | about 1.7 a year | 100 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 94.3 | $705,603 | about 14 a year | 222 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 92.0 | $8.5 million | about once every 671 years | — |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively High | 89.8 | $6.7 million | about 6.2 a year | — |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 89.0 | $59,297 | about once every 1.7 years | — |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 84.0 | $2.2 million | about 5.5 a year | 77 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 78.9 | $791,428 | about 28 a year | 199,871 strikes |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 69.2 | $2.8 million | about once every 5.0 years | 0 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 65.8 | $2.1 million | about 1.2 a year | 19 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 49.9 | $164,256 | about 3.1 a year | 133 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 46.2 | $42,905 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 41.4 | $217,094 | about 2.5 a year | 98 |
| Avalanche | Very Low | 24.6 | $72 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Tsunami | Insufficient Data | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 38
Most common: Severe Storm 12, Hurricane 12, Snowstorm 8, Flood 3.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | Snowstorm |
| 1980s | 4 | Flood ×2, Tornado, Hurricane |
| 1990s | 5 | Hurricane ×2, Snowstorm ×2, Flood |
| 2000s | 7 | Snowstorm ×4, Severe Storm ×2, Hurricane |
| 2010s | 13 | Severe Storm ×7, Hurricane ×4, Tornado, Snowstorm |
| 2020s | 8 | Hurricane ×4, Severe Storm ×3, Fire |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Western Connecticut Planning Region
- Hurricane Henri (2021, EM-3564-CT): 9 Connecticut counties designated.
- Tropical Storm Isaias (2021, DR-4580-CT): 9 Connecticut counties designated.
- Tropical Storm Isaias (2020, EM-3535-CT): 9 Connecticut counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Ida (2021), Hurricane Henri (2021), Tropical Storm Isaias (2021), Tropical Storm Isaias (2020), Hurricane Sandy (2012), Tropical Storm Irene (2011), Hurricane Irene (2011), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Floyd (1999), Hurricane Bob (1991), Hurricane Gloria (1985).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Connecticut also had 2 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 15
| Tornadoes touching the county | 15 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×3 |
| Peak month | July (6) |
| Deadliest | 21 Aug 1951, F2, 43.9 mi path, 0 killed, 9 injured |
| Longest path | 21 Aug 1951, F2, 43.9 mi path, 0 killed, 9 injured |
| Most recent | 12 Aug 2023, EF0, 0.8 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 19 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Western Connecticut Planning Region compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Connecticut Planning Region (this page) | — | Relatively High | 96.3 | Inland flooding |
| Greater Bridgeport Planning Region | 20 km | Relatively Moderate | 91.8 | Strong wind |
| Putnam County, NY | 28 km | Very Low | 39.8 | Landslide |
| Westchester County, NY | 31 km | Relatively High | 96.2 | Strong wind |
| Naugatuck Valley Planning Region | 37 km | Relatively Moderate | 93.2 | Inland flooding |
| South Central Connecticut Planning Region | 50 km | Relatively High | 95.1 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Connecticut, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Low 21.4 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively High 62.2 |
| Community risk factor | 0.90 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $260 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Western Connecticut Planning Region's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Connecticut · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods recorded
- Strong wind: Power outages now
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out. Connecticut now uses nine planning regions: older declarations and tornadoes listed by the eight former counties are assigned to every planning region that shares a town with that county, so a region can show events that hit only part of it.
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 Western Connecticut Planning Region
What natural disasters is Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut most at risk from?
Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 96.3 out of 100, higher than about 96% of US counties, with inland (river and flash) flooding, strong winds and hurricanes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $260 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Western Connecticut Planning Region had?
OpenFEMA lists 38 federal disaster declarations that included Western Connecticut Planning Region since 1978, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is FM-5542-CT (Hawthorne Fire, declared 24 October 2024). Another 2 Connecticut declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Western Connecticut Planning Region?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 15 tornadoes touching Western Connecticut Planning Region from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 21 Aug 1951, F2, 43.9 mi path, 0 killed, 9 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.