Hampden’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hampden comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2005.
What stands out about Hampden’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Hampden flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2005
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hampden, from FEMA’s records.
Hampden isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Penobscot County.How exposed is Hampden?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 303 of the 477 Maine towns we cover.
Hampden covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Hampden faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Winter weather
Ice storms
Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Penobscot County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hampden itself in FEMA’s records.
Penobscot County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Get ready for what Hampden actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Hampden and its neighbors
Hampden ranks 5th calmest of 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in January–March
The month each of Penobscot County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Hampden’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Hampden.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Hampden, expected losses total about $2.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hampden.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.