TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
PownalGood evening
Natural hazards · Pownal

Pownal, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pownal comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 14 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Pownal?

18
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pownal to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding47%Hurricanes26%Ice storms6%Everything else21%
By hazard

What Pownal faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

26% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Pownal flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Pownal isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cumberland County.
Disasters that hit Pownal

14 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PownalDeclared for Cumberland County only
2024

Severe Winter Storm

$37K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved
2017

Severe Storm and Flooding

$23K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2015

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$6K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$13K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$39K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$57K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved $15K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2005

Record Snow

$9K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2005

Snow

$7K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$15K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2003

Snow

$4K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
2001

Snow

$4K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$3K to the Town of Pownal for repairs
Cumberland County has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Pownal

Pownal and the towns around it

North Yarmouth: Low, mostly inland floodingFreeport: Very low, mostly inland floodingDurham: Low, mostly inland floodingNew Gloucester: Very low, mostly inland floodingCumberland: Low, mostly inland floodingYarmouth: Low, mostly inland floodingGray: Very low, mostly inland floodingBrunswick: Very low, mostly inland floodingHarpswell: Low, mostly coastal floodingChebeague Island: Very low, mostly inland floodingLisbon: Low, mostly inland floodingTopsham: Low, mostly inland floodingLewiston: Low, mostly inland floodingAuburn: Low, mostly inland floodingPoland: Low, mostly inland floodingRaymond: Low, mostly inland floodingPownal: Very low, mostly inland flooding PownalNorth YarmouthFreeportDurhamNew Gloucester
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
North Yarmouthmostly inland floodingLow
Durhammostly inland floodingLow
Pownalmostly inland floodingVery low
New Gloucestermostly inland floodingVery low
Freeportmostly inland floodingVery 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. Pownal 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 Pownal’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Pownal. 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.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Pownal, MECumberland CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Pownal 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
Open detailed map