Florence Griswold House and Museum · Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0Old Lyme’s building-damage rate from coastal flooding is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Old Lyme gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #28 of 155 in Connecticut. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then hurricanes (14%). Flood insurance has paid 309 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Old Lyme’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Old Lyme faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Old Lyme’s grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Old Lyme, and Old Lyme’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 8%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B #28 of 155 in Connecticut; lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Old Lyme’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Connecticut town has higher expected damage than 62% of U.S. towns; within the state, Old Lyme has less expected damage per building than 82% of Connecticut towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Old Lyme: $2.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Old Lyme flood? Yes: 309 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Old Lyme, from FEMA’s records: 67.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 94% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Sandy152 claims · $7.1M
- The March 2010 nor’easter22 claims · $279K
Old Lyme isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: the county.13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Old Lyme
Disasters that paid out in Old Lyme itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Old Lyme), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Hurricane Henri$5K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2020Tropical Storm Isaias$120K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$44K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$103K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$194K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs152 flood claims paid for it, $7.1M
- 2011Severe Storm$2K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
Show all 13
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$190K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs22 flood claims paid for it, $236K
- 2011Snowstorm$39K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$59K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs22 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2005Record Snow$18K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2003Snow$10K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
- 2003Snow$11K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs
Old photos of Old Lyme after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Old Lyme archive →Old Lyme and its neighbors
Old Lyme has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Lyme | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 309 |
| Old Saybrook | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 628 |
| East Lyme | Cmore damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 195 |
| Lyme | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 21 |
| Old Saybrook Center | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Old Lyme faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Old Lyme
Is Old Lyme at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Old Lyme has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #28 of 155 in Connecticut. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and hurricanes (14%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Old Lyme flood?
Flood insurance has paid 309 claims in Old Lyme since 1978, $8.1M in all, or 67.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 94% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 37 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (152).
Is Old Lyme in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In the county, 42% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Old Lyme?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Old Lyme’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Old Lyme?
By FEMA money that reached Old Lyme, Hurricane Sandy (2012): $194K to the Town of Old Lyme for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 152 paid, $7.1M.
Is Old Lyme at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Old Lyme’s rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Old Lyme.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Old Lyme’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.