Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Union
Union isn’t graded for hazard risk: Union has 944 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Union 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
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.
Does Union flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Union. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Union 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.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Union
Disasters that paid out in Union itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Union), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$8K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$6K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$9K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2011Severe Storm$36K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$4K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2011Snowstorm$7K to the Town of Union for repairs
Show all 11
- 2006Snow$4K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2005Record Snow$5K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Union for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Union for repairs
Old photos of Union after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Union archive →Union and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willington | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Woodstock | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 11 |
| Ashford | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Stafford | Cmore damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Eastford | Cmore damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
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 Union 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.
- 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 Union
Is Union 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, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Union?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Union’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 Union?
By FEMA money that reached Union, Severe Storm (2011): $36K to the Town of Union for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Union.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Union’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.