Flood Help Guide

Maine flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

5,672NFIP flood claims since 1978
$87.1 millionPaid on those claims
$45,528Average paid claimlast 10 years
1.2%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
25Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 5,672 flood insurance claims in Maine since 1978. The NFIP paid $87.1 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2024, with 744.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 1,293 claims, and the average paid claim was $45,528.

33% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 1.2% of homes in Maine had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (6,651 of 538,014 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 79% (4,052 of 5,159).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 25 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Maine. The most recent was DR-4764-ME (Severe Storms and Flooding), declared March 20, 2024.

Flood insurance claims in Maine by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Maine, 1978 to 202602505007501k1978: 506 claims, $3.1 million paid1979: 195 claims, $491,052 paid1980: 53 claims, $64,879 paid19801981: 43 claims, $72,660 paid1982: 41 claims, $85,904 paid1983: 152 claims, $617,414 paid1984: 86 claims, $181,100 paid1985: 5 claims, $31,701 paid1986: 95 claims, $156,623 paid1987: 584 claims, $10.1 million paid1988: 8 claims, $31,200 paid1989: 40 claims, $103,554 paid1990: 67 claims, $225,581 paid19901991: 597 claims, $5.2 million paid1992: 30 claims, $70,662 paid1993: 79 claims, $267,612 paid1994: 63 claims, $1.2 million paid1995: 9 claims, $6,405 paid1996: 281 claims, $1.9 million paid1997: 41 claims, $359,035 paid1998: 94 claims, $669,801 paid1999: 17 claims, $48,702 paid2000: 21 claims, $54,988 paid20002001: 32 claims, $126,391 paid2002: 12 claims, $77,805 paid2003: 47 claims, $337,127 paid2004: 7 claims, $2,598 paid2005: 105 claims, $507,446 paid2006: 181 claims, $2.6 million paid2007: 419 claims, $7.0 million paid2008: 136 claims, $2.5 million paid2009: 32 claims, $191,918 paid2010: 116 claims, $997,633 paid20102011: 38 claims, $451,312 paid2012: 47 claims, $534,203 paid2013: 35 claims, $475,663 paid2014: 41 claims, $679,868 paid2015: 13 claims, $89,678 paid2016: 11 claims, $84,449 paid2017: 18 claims, $412,903 paid2018: 133 claims, $3.0 million paid2019: 23 claims, $317,856 paid2020: 12 claims, $61,214 paid20202021: 7 claims, $195,720 paid2022: 142 claims, $3.6 million paid2023: 207 claims, $8.2 million paid2024: 744 claims, $29.4 million paid2025: 7 claims, $119,077 paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
20257$119,077
2024744$29.4 million
2023207$8.2 million
2022142$3.6 million
20217$195,720
202012$61,214
201923$317,856
2018133$3.0 million
201718$412,903
201611$84,449
201513$89,678
201441$679,868
201335$475,663
201247$534,203
201138$451,312
2010116$997,633
200932$191,918
2008136$2.5 million
2007419$7.0 million
2006181$2.6 million
2005105$507,446
20047$2,598
200347$337,127
200212$77,805
200132$126,391
200021$54,988
199917$48,702
199894$669,801
199741$359,035
1996281$1.9 million
19959$6,405
199463$1.2 million
199379$267,612
199230$70,662
1991597$5.2 million
199067$225,581
198940$103,554
19888$31,200
1987584$10.1 million
198695$156,623
19855$31,701
198486$181,100
1983152$617,414
198241$85,904
198143$72,660
198053$64,879
1979195$491,052
1978506$3.1 million

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Maine, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Flooding1987539$10.0 million
December Nor'easter2023173$7.5 million
April 2007 Nor'easter2007394$6.9 million
The "Halloween" Storm1991518$4.5 million
Hurricane Irene201119$364,735
Hurricane Sandy201210$57,681

Flood history by county

Every Maine county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredFlood declarations
York County2,666$44.7 million3.4%14
Cumberland County504$5.5 million1.3%7
Kennebec County441$7.4 million0.5%8
Aroostook County358$4.6 million0.3%4
Oxford County352$5.9 million1.1%12
Penobscot County238$1.7 million0.4%4
Lincoln County149$3.6 million1.6%9
Androscoggin County147$1.1 million0.5%8
Somerset County138$2.0 million0.6%10
Knox County92$1.9 million1.5%12
Hancock County89$1.1 million1.0%8
Franklin County88$1.8 million0.7%11
Piscataquis County87$2.0 million0.4%8
Sagadahoc County85$1.1 million1.0%8
Waldo County73$1.5 million0.8%13
Washington County30$85,7850.7%9

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Maine

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4764-ME Mar 20, 2024 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4754-ME Jan 30, 2024 Severe Storm and Flooding Yes
DR-4737-ME Sep 6, 2023 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4736-ME Sep 5, 2023 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4719-ME Jul 6, 2023 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4696-ME Mar 22, 2023 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4647-ME Mar 15, 2022 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4367-ME May 30, 2018 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4354-ME Jan 2, 2018 Severe Storm and Flooding No
DR-4208-ME Mar 12, 2015 Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding No
DR-4108-ME Mar 25, 2013 Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding No
DR-1953-ME Feb 1, 2011 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1920-ME Jul 1, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1852-ME Jul 30, 2009 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides No
DR-1815-ME Jan 9, 2009 Severe Winter Storm and Flooding No
DR-1788-ME Sep 9, 2008 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes No
DR-1755-ME May 9, 2008 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1716-ME Aug 8, 2007 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1693-ME Apr 25, 2007 Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding Yes
DR-1691-ME Apr 20, 2007 Flooding No
DR-1644-ME May 25, 2006 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1591-ME Jun 29, 2005 Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams No
DR-1508-ME Feb 5, 2004 Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams No
DR-1371-ME May 16, 2001 Severe Winter Storms and Flooding No
DR-1326-ME Apr 28, 2000 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams No

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.