89 flood insurance claims·$1.1M paid·4 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Hancock County, Maine. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Coastal flooding and general flooding dominate the hazard profile of Hancock County, with each accounting for 23 events out of the past 30 years of NOAA records, alongside 17 flash flood events and multiple tropical systems. Recent storms have repeatedly impacted the region, including coastal flooding events driven by merging low-pressure systems in January 2024 and March 2024, as well as heavy rain and wind from the post-tropical remnants of Tropical Storm Philippe in October 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records show varying impacts across different zones. Zone V properties have experienced the highest vulnerability with 37 claims averaging $41,096 in payouts and an average recorded water depth of 29 inches. Zone A properties recorded 21 claims with an average payout of $33,519 and an average water depth of 18 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties averaged an average water depth of 46 inches across 16 claims with an average payout of $7,698.
Coastal property owners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk coastal Zone V and Zone A areas, where historical claims and average water depths demonstrate the most frequent and costly flood impacts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Hancock County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
60 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 22 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2024, with 33 claims and $866,480 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
34 NOAA storm reports from Hancock County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maine flood stories →
39 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 9, 2024 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Dec 17, 2023 |
| Hurricane Lee | Sep 15, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Oct 29, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Jun 18, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding | Apr 15, 2007 |
| Flooding | Mar 16, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
72 since 1996: 17 flash floods, 23 river or area floods and 24 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Mar 10, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 11, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2023 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Jan 13, 2024. An area of low pressure developed across southern New England and tracked northward across central Maine during the day on January 13th. Precipitation began as rain across Downeast and snow elsewhere, then gradually transitioned to rain across the state. Strong winds developed during the morning of January 13th, ending across Downeast by early afternoon. The highest wind speeds occurred in the Western Maine Mounta…
Coastal Flood · Mar 10, 2024. Low pressure tracked east across the Great Lakes through the night of the 9th into the 10th. The low merged with a secondary coastal low during the 10th while lifting to Maine. The low tracked northeast across the Gulf of Maine to the Downeast region during the 10th...crossing the Downeast region that evening...then exiting across the Maritimes during the early morning hours of the 11th. Precipitation developed du…
Coastal Flood · Jan 10, 2024. A strong area of low pressure tracked across Quebec province on Wednesday, January 10th. Strong southeasterly winds developed late on January 9th, before increasing in intensity during the early morning hours of January 10th. Warm air moved inland after midnight on January 9th, changing snow to rain along the immediate coast, followed by a more gradual change for interior areas throughout the day on January 10th…
Coastal Flood · Dec 18, 2023. Low pressure rapidly intensified while lifting north along the coast from Florida to New England from the 17th into the 18th. The low then tracked across New England...to the west of the region...during the 18th. The low brought unseasonably warm air and abundant moisture across the region. Heavy rains and high winds accompanied the low. The pressure gradient between high pressure across the Atlantic and the rapid…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Hancock County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.