Natural hazards · New Canaan

New Canaan, CT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in New Canaan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 82 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is New Canaan?

High

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding77%Hurricanes16%Everything else7%

By hazard

What New Canaan faces

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

Inland flooding

77% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 New Canaan flood?

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

82paid claims since 1979

$1.9Mpaid to owners

10homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ida: 14 claims, $735K
Not a named storm: 7 claims, $9K
Hurricane Irene: 3 claims, $16K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (5) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. New Canaan 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 New Canaan

New Canaan and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Stamfordmostly inland floodingHigh

Darienmostly inland floodingHigh

New Canaanmostly inland floodingHigh

Norwalkmostly inland floodingHigh

Wiltonmostly inland floodingModerate

Lewisboromostly inland floodingVery low

Pound Ridgemostly inland floodingVery low

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. New Canaan covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to New Canaan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of New Canaan. 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 New Canaan total about $12.5M 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.