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Natural hazards · Penobscot

Penobscot, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Penobscot comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Penobscot?

15
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Penobscot to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes30%Inland flooding25%Cold waves14%Ice storms8%Lightning7%Winter weather6%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Penobscot faces

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

Hurricanes

30% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Ice storms

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lightning

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Winter weather

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Penobscot flood?

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

2paid claims since 1979
$3Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19792026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Penobscot 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 Penobscot

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PenobscotDeclared for Hancock County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid
2007

Flooding

$12K to the Town of Penobscot for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$3K to the Town of Penobscot for repairs
2003

Snow

$6K to the Town of Penobscot for repairs
2001

Snow

$3K to the Town of Penobscot for repairs
Hancock County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Penobscot

Penobscot and the towns around it

Brooksville: Low, mostly hurricanesSurry: Low, mostly inland floodingCastine: Very low, mostly hurricanesStockton Springs: Low, mostly inland floodingBlue Hill: Low, mostly inland floodingSedgwick: Low, mostly hurricanesOrland: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDeer Isle: Low, mostly hurricanesIslesboro: no dataEllsworth: Low, mostly inland floodingTrenton: Low, mostly hurricanesMount Desert: Low, mostly hurricanesSearsport: Low, mostly inland floodingVerona Island: Moderate, mostly inland floodingProspect: Low, mostly inland floodingTremont: Low, mostly hurricanesBrooklin: Low, mostly hurricanesBucksport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDedham: High, mostly inland floodingPenobscot: Very low, mostly hurricanes PenobscotBrooksvilleSurryCastineStockton SpringsBlue HillSedgwickOrland
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Orlandmostly inland floodingModerate
Stockton Springsmostly inland floodingLow
Surrymostly inland floodingLow
Blue Hillmostly inland floodingLow
Brooksvillemostly hurricanesLow
Sedgwickmostly hurricanesLow
Penobscotmostly hurricanesVery low
Castinemostly hurricanesVery low
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. Penobscot covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Penobscot’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Penobscot. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Penobscot total about $540K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

The porch light’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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