Natural hazards · Perham

Perham, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Perham comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1981. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Perham?

27
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Perham to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves58%Inland flooding24%Hurricanes7%Winter weather5%Everything else6%
By hazard

What Perham faces

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

Cold waves

58% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Winter weather

5% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 30 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsHeat 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 Perham flood?

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

8paid claims since 1981
$119Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19812026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Perham isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Aroostook County.
Disasters that hit Perham

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PerhamDeclared for Aroostook County only
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$41K to the Town of Perham for repairs
2005

Snow

$4K to the Town of Perham for repairs
2003

Snow

$2K to the Town of Perham for repairs
Aroostook County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Perham

Perham and the towns around it

Woodland: Low, mostly cold wavesWade: Low, mostly cold wavesWestmanland: Low, mostly cold wavesCaribou: Low, mostly cold wavesNew Sweden: Low, mostly cold wavesWashburn: Low, mostly cold wavesCastle Hill: Very low, mostly cold wavesPerham: Low, mostly cold waves PerhamWoodlandWadeWestmanland
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Westmanlandmostly cold wavesLow
Perhammostly cold wavesLow
Woodlandmostly cold wavesLow
Wademostly cold wavesLow
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. Perham covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Perham’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Perham. 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 Perham total about $1.3M 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 door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Perham, MEAroostook CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map
Loading boundary…

Perham is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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