FEMA Records
31
High volume
Connecticut · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Litchfield County, CT
31 FEMA disaster declarations (1978-2024). Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 31
- FEMA declarations
- 17
- Major disasters
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 09005 · Litchfield County 31 declarations · rank 364/3,266
DECL-HEAVY · MAJOR-MID · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-UNK · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-HEAVY 31
- MAJOR-MID 55%
- RANK-MID #364
- PHOTO-FINISH Galveston
- NRI-UNK NRI n/a
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-ABOVE +2%
Nearest declaration peer: Galveston, TX (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Connecticut state profile
Litchfield County in the declaration-count neighbourhood
FEMA declaration records among this county and nearest peers
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Galveston · near 31
Galveston · near
31 declarations
- Litchfield · this county 31
Litchfield · this county
31 declarations
- Orange · near 31
Orange · near
31 declarations
- Woodward · near 31
Woodward · near
31 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Litchfield County carries 31 FEMA declaration records, ranked 364 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
How does Litchfield County compare?
Litchfield County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
31 Top 12% higher than 88% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
What does Litchfield County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 479 paid claims, totaling $7.1M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $14.9K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Litchfield County's 31 federal records stand 2% above the Connecticut county mean of 30.5. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
64 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Litchfield County, CT · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) High
22/30
31 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
13/25
31 declarations (1.0x state county average of 31)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
17 of 31 declarations are major disasters (55%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Litchfield County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Litchfield County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
55%
Major-heavy
County FIPS
09005
CT state code
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 11
Severe Storm 8
Snowstorm 7
Biological 2
Flood 2
Tornado 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Litchfield County's federal record, 35% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 17 54.8%
of all 31 declarations
Emergency - 14 45.2%
of all 31 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 4 | |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 1 | |
Show 5 earlier declaration years
| 1989 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 31 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 31 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4820 | SEVERE STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-09-20 |
| 3612 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Severe Storm | 2024-08-21 |
| 4629 | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR | Hurricane | 2021-10-30 |
| 3564 | HURRICANE HENRI | EM | Hurricane | 2021-08-22 |
| 4580 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR | Hurricane | 2021-01-12 |
| 3535 | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | EM | Hurricane | 2020-08-06 |
| 4500 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-28 |
| 3439 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4106 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2013-03-21 |
| 3361 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2013-02-10 |
| 4087 | HURRICANE SANDY | DR | Hurricane | 2012-10-30 |
| 3353 | HURRICANE SANDY | EM | Hurricane | 2012-10-28 |
| 4046 | SEVERE STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-11-17 |
| 3342 | SEVERE STORM | EM | Severe Storm | 2011-10-31 |
| 4023 | TROPICAL STORM IRENE | DR | Hurricane | 2011-09-02 |
| 3331 | HURRICANE IRENE | EM | Hurricane | 2011-08-27 |
| 1958 | SNOWSTORM | DR | Snowstorm | 2011-03-03 |
| 1700 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2007-05-11 |
| 1619 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-12-16 |
| 3246 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
Show 11 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3200 | RECORD SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2005-02-17 |
| 3192 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2004-01-15 |
| 3176 | SNOW | EM | Snowstorm | 2003-03-11 |
| 1302 | HURRICANE FLOYD | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-23 |
| 1092 | BLIZZARD 0F 96 | DR | Snowstorm | 1996-01-24 |
| 3098 | SEVERE WINDS & BLIZZARD, RECORD SNOWFALL | EM | Snowstorm | 1993-03-16 |
| 837 | SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES | DR | Tornado | 1989-07-17 |
| 747 | HURRICANE GLORIA | DR | Hurricane | 1985-10-11 |
| 711 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-06-18 |
| 661 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1982-06-14 |
| 3060 | BLIZZARD & SNOWSTORMS | EM | Snowstorm | 1978-02-07 |
Storm Events in Connecticut
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Litchfield County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 926 | 7 | 13 | $9.0M |
| Flash Flood | 328 | 3 | 0 | $9.3M |
| Winter Weather | 311 | 1 | 3 | $162.7K |
| Heavy Snow | 157 | 0 | 0 | $53.0K |
| Strong Wind | 142 | 1 | 2 | $2.3M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
479
Total Paid
$7.1M
Avg Per Claim
$14.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Data-matched county comparisons
Litchfield County's closest FEMA peer: Bastrop County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields for Litchfield County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Litchfield County shows 31 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Litchfield County: 17 of 31 of its declarations are Major.
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Litchfield County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Litchfield County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 31. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Litchfield County's NFIP claims file (479 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Litchfield County?
The most common disaster type in Litchfield County is Hurricane, with 11 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (8), Snowstorm (7), Biological (2).
How does Litchfield County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Connecticut average?
FEMA lists 31 declaration records for Litchfield County. That is 2% above the Connecticut county mean of 30.5. Its count is also 50% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Litchfield County received?
Litchfield County has received 17 major disaster declarations, representing 55% of all 31 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Litchfield County filed?
Litchfield County has 479 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $7.1M in payments, with an average of $14.9K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Litchfield County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Litchfield County was 2013, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1978 to 2024.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.