Lewiston is calmer than 79% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lewiston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1979. 14 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Lewiston’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Lewiston flood? Sometimes: 23 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lewiston, from FEMA’s records.
- The December nor’easter4 claims · $60K
Lewiston is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Androscoggin County.How exposed is Lewiston?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Calmer than 434 of the 477 Maine towns we cover.
Lewiston covers 13 census tracts, combined by population.
14 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lewiston
Disasters that paid out in Lewiston itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Lewiston) and its biggest flood years.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding116 households applied for aid$121K aid approved$483K to the City of Lewiston for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
- 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$72K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$93K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$234K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$117K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$20K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
Show all 15
- 2005Record Snow$66K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2005Snow$65K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2005Record And/Or Near Record Snow$59K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2003Snow$79K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2002Severe Winter Cold and Frost$106K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2001Snow$77K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$185K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$90K to the City of Lewiston for repairs
- 198714 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Androscoggin County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Lewiston after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lewiston archive →What Lewiston faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Ice storms
Earthquakes
Get ready for what Lewiston 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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.
- Lewiston residents get 10% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Lewiston and its neighbors
Lewiston ranks 2nd calmest of 6 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 Androscoggin County’s 29 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 Lewiston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lewiston.
- 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 Lewiston, expected losses total about $7.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lewiston.
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.