12,667 flood insurance claims·$280.5M paid·9 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Fairfield County, Connecticut. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from heavy summer thunderstorms and stalled frontal systems dominates the flood character of Fairfield County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 169 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 28 general floods, 23 coastal floods with 1 death, 5 tropical storms, and 1 storm surge event. Recent documented occurrences include a slow-moving cold front causing road closures in July 2025, persistent moderate to heavy rainfall producing 2 to 4 inches in January 2024, and training thunderstorms producing rainfall rates of 3 to 4.5 inches per hour that triggered a Flash Flood Emergency in August 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Zone A properties carry the highest risk profile with 8,664 claims averaging $30,100 payouts and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 1,342 claims with an average payout of $25,032 and an average water depth of 8 inches. Zone V properties logged 919 claims averaging $26,940 with an average water depth of 6 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 711 claims averaging $21,237 with an average water depth of 6 inches. Zone UNKNOWN accounts for 601 claims averaging $3,049 with an average water depth of 6 inches. Homeowners in Zone A and Zone V, as well as properties in moderate-risk Zone X, should pay the closest attention to these recurring flood hazards.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Fairfield County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
10,722 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2012, with 3,225 claims and $153.5M paid, the year of Hurricane Sandy.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
95 NOAA storm reports from Fairfield County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Connecticut flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Aug 18, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Aug 18, 2024 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Sep 1, 2021 |
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | May 15, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Feb 8, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
226 since 1996: 169 flash floods, 28 river or area floods and 24 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Oct 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | $100,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Oct 30, 2025. Flash Flooding as a frontal system moved across the area resulting in widespread heavy rainfall.
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2025. A slow-moving cold front stalled over the area resulting in convection over southern CT and causing some road closures.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2024. A slow moving cold front allowed for widespread thunderstorm development on June 30th. MUCAPE values of 2000-3000 J/kg with PWATs near 2 allowed for thunderstorms to produce heavy rainfall with rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour. These thunderstorms moved through the Lower Hudson Valley and Connecticut resulting in 1 to 2 inches of rain, most of which fell over a one to two hour period. This resulted in localiz…
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2024. A frontal system over the area on August 18th allowed for the development of rain early in the morning. As the day progressed, mesoscale features including multiple boundary interactions and a mesolow allowed thunderstorms to continue to intensify with persistent back-building and training over the same areas in southern Connecticut. These thunderstorms produced anywhere from 3-4.5 inch per hour rainfall rates res…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Fairfield County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.