238 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·6 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 Penobscot 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.
Penobscot County experiences flood hazards primarily driven by general riverine flooding, supported by 74 recorded flood events and 22 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate these varied drivers, including a March 2024 low-pressure system that brought heavy rain and snowmelt, leading to minor flooding along the Mattawamkeag River where the river crested less than a half foot above flood stage. Additionally, the extra-tropical remnants of Hurricane Beryl brought near-record precipitable water levels and flash flooding in July 2024, while a strong coastal storm system caused flooding and damaging winds in January 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in Zone A have experienced the highest volume of claims with 133 filings, averaging an 11-inch water depth and an $11,825 payout. Meanwhile, properties designated as Zone X Unshaded recorded an average water depth of 16 inches with a $12,212 payout, and Zone X properties averaged 8 inches of water depth with a $14,315 payout.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located near rivers, low-lying land areas, and designated Zone A or Zone X flood zones should pay the closest attention to these recurring flood and flash flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
24% of Penobscot County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
175 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 10 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 1987, with 64 claims and $916,155 paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Penobscot County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maine flood stories →
71 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Dec 17, 2023 |
| Hurricane Lee | Sep 15, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Oct 29, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 9, 2005 |
| Record And/or Near Record Snow | Feb 10, 2005 |
| Snow | Dec 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
103 since 1996: 22 flash floods, 74 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 31, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 10, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 31, 2024. A combination of snow melt and heavy rain led to minor flooding along the Mattawamkeag River. Flooding developed during the early morning hours of the 31st. The river crested less than a half foot above flood stage during the afternoon of the 31st. The river then remained at around crest levels with minor flooding persisting into early April. The flooding mostly impacted low land areas along the river.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2024. The extra-tropical remnants of Hurricane Beryl brought abundant moisture to the region while crossing northern Maine during the 11th. Tropical moisture expanded across the region through the night of the 10th into the morning of the 11th with a warm front lifting across the region. Precipitable water values reached near record daily levels. Heavy rain developed during the evening of the 10th and persisted into the…
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…
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 Penobscot 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.