In a new report on natural disaster risk Connecticut ranks as the third most-appealing state to move to if one wants to stay safe. This report by
Texas-based personal injury lawyers DJC Law does not factor for earthquakes. Wildfire data for 2010-2022, tornado data for 2008-2023 and flood data for 2010-2025 (presumably through mid-January) was collected.
Rhode Island is the least vulnerable state to natural disasters, having experienced no flooding between 2010 and 2025 the study shows. Connecticut, though, fares very well too, as we have had proportionately few wildfires, floods and tornadoes over the same period. The Ocean State boasts a very low likelihood of natural disasters occurring in the future, at just 0.11%. The state reported no cases of flooding between 2010 and 2025. Over a 16-year period, only seven tornadoes were recorded, resulting in a minimal probability of 0.03% for tornadoes in the coming years.
Connecticut, the report states, had only two tornadoes during that period, in 2022 and 2023, but I demur. Not only have I long heard tornado warnings -- I remember moving here in 2001 and being freaked out when warned to shelter from tornadoes -- my town suffered real damage in 2021. Branford got wallopped from at least one
tornado that whipped through town in November of that year. The National Weather Service reported then that three EF-O tornadoes hit the state. After hearing the tell-tale "freight train" like sound, the homeowner recalled: "Within seconds the trees just snapped in half all at once."
Between Rhode Island and
Connecticut ranks Delaware, faring second-lowest for natural disasters. Delaware only had a 0.07% probability for wildfires, 0.09% probability for tornadic activity, 0% chance of flooding and .16% probability of overall likelihood of a natural disater. Connecticut's figures were .24%, 0.19%, 0% and 0.43%, according to the study, although recently many areas of our state have flooded (perhaps the measuring stick is for more dramatic flooding, such as we've seen down south.)
Our neighbor to the north, Massachussetts, came in at #10 for least risky, with a 2.49% chance of such events occurring in the future. It is one of the few states that did not experience tornadoes in 2022, according to the report. Additionally, only one flood was recorded between 2010 and 2025, resulting in a low 0.46% probability of floods occurring in the state. Texas is ranked as the riskiest state with an 8.44% tornadic risk and overall 23.64% natural disaster risk, while poor
California is second riskiest at 13.89% risk of wildfire and 18.12% overall natural disaster risk (presumably California could be riskier following the
recent fires in Pacific Palisades and Eaton.)
Data for the study was sourced from governmental reports, including historical records of wildfires, tornado occurrences, and floods to calculate the likelihood of each disaster type in every state. These probabilities were then married to determine the overarching natural disaster risk.
To access the full report click here, and visit Team Justice for information about the firm.
Image: On the one day Rhode Island definitely was not the least risky state, the day of the 1815 "Great September Gale", a Cat. 4 hurricane that flooded Providence, ravaged much of New England and killed more than three dozen persons; or worse, the Cat 5 Sept 10-22, 1938, where some 700 people died, about 600 of them in Rhode Island. By Kenneth Zirkel, Hurricane water levels at Old Market House Providence.jpg
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