85 flood insurance claims·$1.1M paid·7 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 Sagadahoc 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 dominates the flood character of Sagadahoc County, accounting for 19 of the 41 recorded storm events over the last 30 years, alongside regular flooding, flash floods, tropical storms, storm surges, and hurricanes. Recent impacts are illustrated by severe storms on January 10 and January 13, 2024, which combined rapidly deepening low-pressure systems, heavy precipitation, and high astronomical tides to produce extreme coastal flooding and gale-force winds. Additional threats occurred on March 10, 2024, when rain and snowmelt brought minor river flooding and standing water, and on July 29, 2023, when slow-moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding over saturated soils.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 31 claims with an average payout of $27,817 and an average recorded water depth of 30 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 27 claims with an average payout of $6,656 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X logged 21 claims averaging $30,446 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone V saw 4 claims averaging $14,581 with an average water depth of 4 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 2 claims averaging $8,277 with an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and property owners in coastal zones and areas subject to high-water depths, particularly in Zone A and Zone V, should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Sagadahoc County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
37 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 13 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 16 claims and $440,283 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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Sagadahoc County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Maine flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 9, 2024 |
| Hurricane Lee | Sep 15, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Apr 30, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Oct 29, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Jan 26, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Feb 8, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 23, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 11, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 6 flash floods, 9 river or area floods and 22 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2024 | $15.0M |
| Coastal Flood | Mar 10, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 10, 2024 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 16, 2023 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 23, 2022 | $3.0M |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 17, 2022 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Jan 13, 2024. The second severe storm in a week���s time struck the northern New England coastline during the middle of January. An intense and rapidly deepening area of low pressure over the Great Lakes region (979 mb) combined the highest astronomical tides of the month to produce extreme flooding along the coast. Portland had its all-time storm tide, posting a record flood water level (records 1912-present). Storm for…
Coastal Flood · Mar 10, 2024. A multifaceted storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to the coast, and heavy snow to the mountains on March 10th. A period of heavy rain between daybreak and noon caused excessive runoff and flash flooding in parts of Cumberland County where rainfall totals exceeded 3 inches. Elsewhere, the rain and snowmelt combination resulted in minor river flooding and nuisance overland standing water. Gale force easterl…
Coastal Flood · Jan 10, 2024. A powerful storm tracked northeast through the Mid Mississippi River Valley on the 9th, rapidly deepening as it approached the southern Great Lakes. Precipitation formed along and ahead of the advancing warm front, which arrived in part of northern New England during the evening of the 9th. High pressure anchored to the north of Maine dammed low level cold air up against the mountains and allowed precipitation to…
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2023. A stalled frontal boundary and surface low pressure began to slowly lift northward into the southeast New Hampshire through the Midcoast of Maine on the afternoon of the 29th. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the boundary and moved eastward. Since the system as a whole showed very little forward progression, multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms ended up moving across the same locations multiple ti…
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 Sagadahoc 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.