Natural hazards · Cambridge

Cambridge, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cambridge comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cambridge?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cambridge to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding27%Cold waves27%Hurricanes17%Drought14%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Cambridge faces

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

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

27% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Cambridge flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Somerset County.

Disasters that hit Cambridge

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CambridgeDeclared for Somerset County only

2023

Severe Storm and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$1K to the Town of Cambridge for repairs

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams

$2K to the Town of Cambridge for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams

$6K to the Town of Cambridge for repairs

Somerset County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Cambridge

Cambridge and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wellingtonmostly cold wavesModerate

Parkmanmostly cold wavesModerate

Harmonymostly inland floodingModerate

Cambridgemostly inland floodingLow

Ripleymostly inland floodingLow

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. Cambridge 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 Cambridge’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cambridge. 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.