87 flood insurance claims·$2.0M 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 Piscataquis 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.
River flooding and flash flooding from heavy rainfall dominate the flood history of Piscataquis County, supported by 66 general flood events and 36 flash flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 5 tropical storm impacts. Recent documented events include an ice jam on the Pleasant River in Milo that caused road closures and isolated homes in March 2025, and heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl that triggered flash flooding in July 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties in Zone A experienced the highest frequency of claims with 60 claims averaging a $19,422 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in Zone X_SHADED recorded higher severity claims, averaging $129,970 with an average water depth of 8 inches across 7 claims. Zone X properties averaged $14,166 with an average water depth of 9 inches across 6 claims, while Zone X_UNSHADED averaged $4,205 with an average water depth of 1 inch across 7 claims, and Zone UNKNOWN averaged $7,584 with an average water depth of 3 inches across 7 claims.
Residents near rivers, low-lying fields, and those located within FEMA Flood Zones A and shaded or unshaded Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Piscataquis County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
74 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 5 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 34 claims and $1.6M 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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Piscataquis County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maine flood stories →
142 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 | Dec 12, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Jun 18, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 28, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, And Ice Jams | Mar 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 9, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
107 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 66 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 18, 2025. An ice jam developed on the Pleasant River...in the vicinity of the Pleasant Street Bridge in Milo...during the afternoon of the 18th and persisted into the afternoon of the 21st. Flooding developed in the vicinity of the ice jam. Pleasant River Road and Pleasant Street in Milo were both closed due to the flooding. Flood waters also reached low lying fields bordering the river. A few homes became isolated. The ic…
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2025. Low pressure tracking across southern Quebec Province lifted a warm front across northern Maine during the 17th...with a cold front then approaching late. A very unstable environment and favorable shear supported supercell thunderstorm development across northern Maine during the afternoon. Thunderstorms then persisted into the evening. Wind gusts up to 50 to 55 mph accompanied the stronger thunderstorms. In the A…
Flood · Apr 12, 2024. A combination of 1 to 2 inches of rain...along with snow melt...led to minor flooding along the Piscataquis River in Dover-Foxcroft. The river crested slightly over a half foot above flood stage during the early morning hours of the 13th. The river fell back below flood stage that afternoon. The flooding was minor...mostly affecting low land areas along the river. Minor flooding was also reported on Back Road in A…
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…
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 Piscataquis 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.