States › Maine
Maine
The recorded hazard history of every county in Maine: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.
Maine has 16,001 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 16 counties, led by winter storms and snow: 51.9 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.
NCEI attributes 39 deaths and 220 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $737M. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Sagadahoc, Androscoggin and Knox.
FEMA lists 71 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Winter Storm (24 May 2024). NFIP policyholders filed 5,672 flood claims since 1978, $87M paid; 6,651 residential policies are in force.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.
Compared with the United States
| Measure | Maine | US |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded events since 1950 | 16,001 | 1,977,440 |
| Events per 100 square miles | 51.9 | 56.0 |
| Events per 10,000 residents | 116.6 | 59.6 |
| Deaths recorded by NCEI | 39 | 26,435 |
| Property damage (NCEI estimates) | $737M | $575B |
| NFIP claims per 1,000 residents | 4.1 | 8.1 |
| Average paid NFIP claim | $21K | $43K |
| Residential flood policies in force | 6,651 | 3,139,862 |
Hazard mix
Events by decade
Counties by events per 100 square miles
| County | Events | Last 12 mo | Per 100 sq mi | Per 10k residents | Dominant | Tornadoes | Hail | Declarations | NFIP claims | NRI risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sagadahoc County | 403 | 11 | 158.7 | 108.7 | Winter | 2 | 22 | 26 | 85 | Very Low |
| Androscoggin County | 588 | 12 | 125.7 | 53.0 | Winter | 4 | 56 | 31 | 147 | Relatively Low |
| Knox County | 396 | 12 | 108.4 | 96.4 | Winter | 1 | 11 | 31 | 92 | Very Low |
| Lincoln County | 433 | 13 | 95.0 | 120.9 | Winter | 2 | 21 | 30 | 149 | Very Low |
| Kennebec County | 700 | 14 | 80.7 | 56.2 | Wind | 11 | 98 | 25 | 441 | Relatively Low |
| Cumberland County | 602 | 7 | 72.0 | 19.7 | Wind | 13 | 147 | 39 | 504 | Relatively Low |
| York County | 520 | 3 | 52.5 | 24.2 | Wind | 14 | 149 | 42 | 2,666 | Relatively Moderate |
| Oxford County | 566 | 6 | 27.3 | 96.5 | Wind | 17 | 107 | 73 | 352 | Relatively Low |
| Waldo County | 139 | 0 | 19.0 | 34.8 | Wind | 3 | 20 | 28 | 73 | Very Low |
| Penobscot County | 579 | 6 | 17.0 | 37.9 | Wind | 14 | 113 | 71 | 238 | Relatively Low |
| Franklin County | 285 | 1 | 16.8 | 96.0 | Wind | 4 | 56 | 85 | 88 | Relatively Low |
| Aroostook County | 936 | 19 | 14.0 | 140.0 | Wind | 30 | 213 | 148 | 358 | Relatively Low |
| Somerset County | 465 | 3 | 11.8 | 91.9 | Wind | 13 | 63 | 172 | 138 | Relatively Low |
| Hancock County | 135 | 0 | 8.5 | 24.0 | Wind | 1 | 22 | 39 | 89 | Relatively Low |
| Piscataquis County | 334 | 6 | 8.4 | 194.6 | Wind | 5 | 70 | 142 | 87 | Relatively Low |
| Washington County | 170 | 3 | 6.6 | 54.6 | Wind | 6 | 44 | 69 | 30 | Relatively Low |
Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).
Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force
| County | Claims, last 10 years | Policies in force | Claims per 100 policies | Claims since 1978 | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York County | 724 | 2,796 | 25.9 | 2,666 | $45M |
| Somerset County | 37 | 144 | 25.7 | 138 | $2.0M |
| Kennebec County | 62 | 249 | 24.9 | 441 | $7.4M |
| Oxford County | 63 | 275 | 22.9 | 352 | $5.9M |
| Lincoln County | 71 | 321 | 22.1 | 149 | $3.6M |
| Waldo County | 25 | 133 | 18.8 | 73 | $1.5M |
| Hancock County | 40 | 284 | 14.1 | 89 | $1.1M |
| Androscoggin County | 23 | 164 | 14.0 | 147 | $1.1M |
| Knox County | 40 | 304 | 13.2 | 92 | $1.9M |
| Sagadahoc County | 19 | 147 | 12.9 | 85 | $1.1M |
| Cumberland County | 111 | 1,320 | 8.4 | 504 | $5.5M |
| Penobscot County | 7 | 194 | 3.6 | 238 | $1.7M |
Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.
Federal disaster declarations by year
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm | 25 |
| Flood | 16 |
| Snowstorm | 12 |
| Hurricane | 6 |
| Coastal Storm | 3 |
| Biological | 3 |
| Fire | 2 |
| Fishing Losses | 2 |
| Winter Storm | 1 |
| Freezing | 1 |
Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 May 2024 | DR-4785 | Major disaster | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm | 2 |
| 20 Mar 2024 | DR-4764 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding | 8 |
| 30 Jan 2024 | DR-4754 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storm And Flooding | 10 |
| 14 Sep 2023 | EM-3598 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Lee | 16 |
| 6 Sep 2023 | DR-4737 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storm And Flooding | 1 |
| 5 Sep 2023 | DR-4736 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storm And Flooding | 1 |
| 6 Jul 2023 | DR-4719 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storm And Flooding | 8 |
| 22 Mar 2023 | DR-4696 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storm And Flooding | 6 |
| 15 Mar 2022 | DR-4647 | Major disaster | Coastal Storm | Severe Storm And Flooding | 3 |
| 4 Apr 2020 | DR-4522 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | 434 |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3498 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | 0 |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3444 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | 178 |
| 30 May 2018 | DR-4367 | Major disaster | Coastal Storm | Severe Storm And Flooding | 1 |
| 2 Jan 2018 | DR-4354 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storm And Flooding | 13 |
| 12 Mar 2015 | DR-4208 | Major disaster | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | 4 |
Flood insurance claims by year
5,672 claims, 4,154 paid, $87M in total; 338 repetitive-loss and 43 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Maine with flood claims (149).
Year by year
Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1953
- 1996
- 1995
- 1994
- 1993
- 1992
- 1991
- 1990
- 1989
- 1988
- 1987
- 1986
- 1985
- 1984
- 1983
- 1982
- 1981
- 1980
- 1979
- 1978
- 1977
- 1976
- 1975
- 1974
- 1973
- 1972
- 1971
- 1970
- 1969
- 1968
- 1967
- 1966
- 1965
- 1964
- 1963
- 1962
- 1961
- 1960
- 1959
- 1958
- 1957
- 1956
- 1955
- 1954
- 1953
Questions and answers
Which Maine counties have the most recorded tornadoes?
Aroostook (30), Oxford (17) and Penobscot (14), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.
Which Maine counties have the most flood insurance claims?
York (2,666), Cumberland (504) and Kennebec (441) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.
How many federal disaster declarations has Maine had?
71 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 0 of them in 2026 so far.
How does Maine compare with the national rate?
51.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 4.1 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.
Provenance
NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.