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Natural hazards · Washburn

Washburn, ME natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Washburn comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1981. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Washburn?

27
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Washburn 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 Washburn 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 Washburn flood?

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

4paid claims since 1981
$30Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19812026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Washburn 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 Washburn

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WashburnDeclared for Aroostook County only
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $25K aid approved $123K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
2005

Snow

$25K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$7K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
2003

Snow

$17K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
2002

Severe Winter Cold and Frost

$6K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
2001

Snow

$4K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams

$20K to the Town of Washburn for repairs
Aroostook County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Washburn

Washburn and the towns around it

Mapleton: Very low, mostly cold wavesWade: Low, mostly cold wavesWoodland: Low, mostly cold wavesChapman: Very low, mostly cold wavesCastle Hill: Very low, mostly cold wavesPerham: Low, mostly cold wavesCaribou: Low, mostly cold wavesNew Sweden: Low, mostly cold wavesWashburn: Low, mostly cold waves WashburnMapletonWadeWoodland
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Washburnmostly cold wavesLow
Wademostly cold wavesLow
Woodlandmostly cold wavesLow
Mapletonmostly cold wavesVery 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. Washburn 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 Washburn’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Washburn. 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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