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Natural hazards · Brooks

Brooks, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brooks comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1986. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Brooks?

54
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brooks to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding46%Hurricanes20%Cold waves12%Winter weather7%Ice storms6%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Brooks faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 55% 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 11 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Winter weather

7% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 36 times a year in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Brooks flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brooks, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 1986
$500paid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19862026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Brooks isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Waldo County.
Disasters that hit Brooks

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrooksDeclared for Waldo County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
2023

Severe Storm and Flooding

$87K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
2022

Severe Storm and Flooding

$27K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$6K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$64K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams

$2K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams

$4K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
Waldo County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Brooks

Brooks and the towns around it

Knox: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMonroe: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWaldo: Moderate, mostly inland floodingJackson: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMontville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingThorndike: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMorrill: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFreedom: Moderate, mostly inland floodingUnity: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFrankfort: Low, mostly inland floodingSwanville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWinterport: High, mostly inland floodingBelfast: Low, mostly hurricanesDixmont: Low, mostly inland floodingBrooks: Moderate, mostly inland flooding BrooksKnoxMonroeWaldoJackson
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Brooksmostly inland floodingModerate
Monroemostly inland floodingModerate
Waldomostly inland floodingModerate
Jacksonmostly inland floodingModerate
Knoxmostly 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. Brooks 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 Brooks’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Brooks. 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.

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