Natural hazards · Amherst

Amherst, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Amherst comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Amherst?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Amherst to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding50%Hurricanes20%Drought11%Cold waves7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Amherst faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Amherst flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Amherst.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Amherst isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Hancock County.

Disasters that hit Amherst

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Amherst itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Amherst.

Brought FEMA money into AmherstDeclared for Hancock County only

2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $10K aid approved

Hancock County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Amherst

Amherst and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Amherstmostly inland floodingHigh

Auroramostly inland floodingHigh

Mariavillemostly inland floodingHigh

Bradleymostly inland floodingModerate

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Amherst is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Amherst’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Amherst. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.