Natural hazards · Ridgefield

Ridgefield, CT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgefield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 46 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ridgefield?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgefield to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding64%Hurricanes23%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Ridgefield faces

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

Inland flooding

64% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 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 Ridgefield flood?

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

46paid claims since 1978

$488Kpaid to owners

7homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Floyd: 7 claims, $35K
Hurricane Ida: 5 claims, $166K
Hurricane Irene: 3 claims, $29K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ridgefield 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 Ridgefield

Ridgefield and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Danburymostly inland floodingModerate

Wiltonmostly inland floodingModerate

Reddingmostly inland floodingModerate

Ridgefieldmostly inland floodingLow

North Salemmostly inland floodingLow

Lewisboromostly 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. Ridgefield covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ridgefield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ridgefield. 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 Ridgefield total about $7.9M 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.