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Voluntown Baptist Church, Voluntown CTPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Voluntown · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Voluntown faces less hazard damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Voluntown gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, #23 of 155 in Connecticut. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%), then hurricanes (27%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 67%Hurricanes 27%Earthquakes 2%

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

less than 60%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#23 of 155 in Connecticut
Hazard risk
B#23 of 155
in Connecticut · lower than 60% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
67% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
By hazard

What Voluntown 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

67%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 56% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

27%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Tornadoes Ice storms Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Voluntown’s grade

River and rain flooding is 67% of the building damage FEMA expects in Voluntown, and Voluntown’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 56% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 27% (higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Voluntown sits
Voluntown
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B #23 of 155 in Connecticut; lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Voluntown’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding67%Hurricanes27%Everything else6%

The typical Connecticut town has higher expected damage than 62% of U.S. towns; within the state, Voluntown has less expected damage per building than 86% of Connecticut towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $764K a year in losses across Voluntown: $657K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Voluntown’s 2,570 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Voluntown flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Voluntown. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Voluntown 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.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Voluntown

Disasters that paid out in Voluntown itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Voluntown), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2015Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$23K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$13K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  3. 2012Hurricane Sandy$10K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$27K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  5. 2011Snowstorm$12K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  6. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$31K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2005Record Snow$11K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs
Were you here?

Old photos of Voluntown after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Voluntown archive →
Next door

Voluntown and its neighbors

Voluntown is 3rd of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Griswold: hazard risk CNorth Stonington: hazard risk B−Sterling: hazard risk CExeter: hazard risk APlainfield: hazard risk CWest Greenwich: hazard risk AGriswoldNorth StoningtonSterlingExeterPlainfieldWest GreenwichVoluntown
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
West GreenwichAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding2
ExeterAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding7
VoluntownBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding0
North StoningtonB−more damage than 52%river and rain flooding13
SterlingCmore damage than 66%river and rain flooding3
GriswoldCmore damage than 68%river and rain flooding3
PlainfieldCmore damage than 73%river and rain flooding4

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Voluntown faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Voluntown

Is Voluntown at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Voluntown has lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #23 of 155 in Connecticut. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%) and hurricanes (27%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Voluntown 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 Voluntown?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Voluntown’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 Voluntown?

By FEMA money that reached Voluntown, Severe Storms and Flooding (2010): $31K to the Town of Voluntown for repairs.

Is Voluntown at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (67%), and Voluntown’s rate for it is lower than 56% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Voluntown.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Voluntown’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.