Natural hazards · Hartford

Hartford, CT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hartford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 43 claims here since 1979.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Hartford?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hartford to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding79%Earthquakes6%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Hartford faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

79% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Hartford flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hartford, from FEMA’s records.

43paid claims since 1979

$692Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 4 claims, $9K
Hurricane Floyd: 4 claims, $75K
Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $11K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Hartford isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: .

Around Hartford

Hartford and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Hartfordmostly inland floodingHigh

West Hartfordmostly inland floodingModerate

East Hartfordmostly inland floodingModerate

Bloomfieldmostly inland floodingModerate

Windsormostly inland floodingModerate

Newingtonmostly inland floodingModerate

Wethersfieldmostly inland floodingModerate

South Windsormostly inland floodingModerate

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Hartford covers 41 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Hartford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hartford. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Hartford total about $36.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.