167 flood insurance claims·$1.8M paid·7 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 Tolland 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.
Flood risk in Tolland County is characterized predominantly by riverine floods and flash flooding driven by severe summer storms, alongside impacts from tropical systems. Over the past 30 years, recorded events include 15 floods, 7 flash floods, and 4 tropical storms, resulting in 1 death. Recent occurrences include widespread flash flooding from a mid-level trough and quasi-stationary boundary in July 2023, which left cars stuck in water and flooded several basements. Additionally, Tropical Storm Henri brought strong wind gusts and flash flooding to northeast Connecticut in August 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 78 claims with an average payout of $16,421 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 25 claims averaging $16,555 with an average water depth of 19 inches, while Zone X logged 23 claims averaging $11,669 with an average water depth of 14 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 11 claims with the highest average payout at $59,460 and an average water depth of 34 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 28 claims averaging $2,409 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners in designated high-risk flood areas such as Zone A, as well as properties in moderate-to-low risk zones experiencing significant water depth like Zone X_SHADED, should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
31% of Tolland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
116 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 12 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 2005, with 35 claims and $1.1M paid, the year of Hurricane Katrina Evacuation and Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Tolland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Connecticut flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 26, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Severe Storm | Oct 29, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Irene | Aug 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2021 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2021 | $60,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 22, 2021 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Jul 17, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jul 9, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 9, 2021 | $1,500 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2023. A mid level trough and a quasi-stationary boundary across Southern New England led to widespread flash flooding in the late hours of the 3rd into the 4th. Most of the flooding was in Rhode Island and Connecticut where cars became stuck in water, and several basements were flooded. In MA a few roads were closed.
Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2021. Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in southwest Rhode Island around noon on August 22nd, then moved slowly northwestward and westward across northern Connecticut and weakened. Henri brought strong wind gusts and flash flooding. The strongest gusts -- to 70 mph -- occurred along the Rhode Island coast. The worst flash flooding occurred in northeast Connecticut.||As the remnants of Henri moved eastward across southe…
Tropical Storm · Aug 22, 2021. Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in southwest Rhode Island around noon on August 22nd, then moved slowly northwestward and westward across northern Connecticut and weakened. Henri brought strong wind gusts and flash flooding. The strongest gusts -- to 70 mph -- occurred along the Rhode Island coast. The worst flash flooding occurred in northeast Connecticut.||As the remnants of Henri moved eastward across southe…
Flood · Jul 17, 2021. A relatively stationary front meandered across southern New England on the 17th and 18th while low pressure slowly moved along the front. At upper levels, an upper low was moving slowly eastward from the Great Lakes. With very moisture-laden air in place across the region, the result was heavy rain and flash flooding. In addition, there were rounds of severe thunderstorms and even a weak tornado in northern Conn…
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 Tolland 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.