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Natural hazards · Searsport

Searsport, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Searsport comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2009. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Searsport?

37
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Searsport to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding36%Hurricanes22%Cold waves13%Winter weather7%Ice storms7%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Searsport faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

22% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Winter weather

7% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 33 times a year in the area

Ice storms

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

TsunamisVolcanic 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 Searsport flood?

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

1paid claims since 2009
$11Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20092026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Searsport isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Waldo County.
Disasters that hit Searsport

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SearsportDeclared for Waldo County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $51K aid approved $1.3M to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2023

Severe Storm and Flooding

$13K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2017

Severe Storm and Flooding

$24K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

$20K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$29K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$27K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$24K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2007

Flooding

$10K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams

$8K to the Town of Searsport for repairs
Waldo County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Searsport

Searsport and the towns around it

Stockton Springs: Low, mostly inland floodingBelfast: Low, mostly hurricanesProspect: Low, mostly inland floodingSwanville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingIslesboro: no dataCastine: Very low, mostly hurricanesVerona Island: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPenobscot: Very low, mostly hurricanesNorthport: Low, mostly hurricanesWaldo: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFrankfort: Low, mostly inland floodingBucksport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMonroe: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDeer Isle: Low, mostly hurricanesBrooksville: Low, mostly hurricanesLincolnville: Low, mostly hurricanesNorth Haven: Moderate, mostly coastal floodingCamden: Low, mostly inland floodingSearsport: Low, mostly inland flooding SearsportStockton SpringsBelfastProspectSwanvilleIslesboroCastine
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Swanvillemostly inland floodingModerate
Searsportmostly inland floodingLow
Stockton Springsmostly inland floodingLow
Prospectmostly inland floodingLow
Belfastmostly hurricanesLow
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. Searsport 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 Searsport’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Searsport. 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.

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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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