Natural hazards · Stow

Stow, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Stow comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Stow?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Stow to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding55%Hurricanes17%Cold waves11%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Stow faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Stow flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Stow isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Oxford County.

Disasters that hit Stow

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into StowDeclared for Oxford County only

2023

Severe Storm and Flooding

$132K to the Town of Stow for repairs

2017

Severe Storm and Flooding

$12K to the Town of Stow for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$9K to the Town of Stow for repairs

2001

Snow

$1K to the Town of Stow for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams

$3K to the Town of Stow for repairs

Oxford County has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Stow

Stow and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Chathammostly inland floodingHigh

Fryeburgmostly inland floodingModerate

Stowmostly inland floodingModerate

Stonehammostly inland floodingModerate

Lovellmostly inland floodingModerate

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. Stow 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 Stow’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Stow. 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.