Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Bar Harbor faces less hazard damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bar Harbor gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns, #54 of 143 in Maine. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (48%), then river and rain flooding (23%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Bar Harbor’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Bar Harbor faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal flooding
Ice storms
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Bar Harbor’s grade
Hurricanes are 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bar Harbor, and Bar Harbor’s rate of hurricanes damage is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 16%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #54 of 143 in Maine; lower expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Bar Harbor’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Maine town has lower expected damage than 70% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bar Harbor has less expected damage per building than 63% of Maine towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Bar Harbor: $2.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bar Harbor flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bar Harbor, from FEMA’s records: 0.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Bar Harbor isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hancock County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bar Harbor
Disasters that paid out in Bar Harbor itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Bar Harbor), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding6 households applied for aid$15K aid approved$575K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides$54K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$56K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2007Flooding$24K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$33K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$16K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
Show all 9
- 2003Snow$12K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2003Snow$12K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
- 2001Snow$8K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs
Hancock County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Bar Harbor after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bar Harbor archive →Bar Harbor and its neighbors
Bar Harbor has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Harbor | A−less damage than 75% | hurricanes | 3 |
| Trenton | B+less damage than 70% | hurricanes | 2 |
| Lamoine | B+less damage than 70% | hurricanes | 3 |
| Hancock | B+less damage than 70% | hurricanes | 3 |
| Mount Desert | Bless damage than 61% | hurricanes | — |
| Gouldsboro | B−less damage than 52% | hurricanes | 2 |
| Winter Harbor | — | 493 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Bar Harbor faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Bar Harbor
Is Bar Harbor at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bar Harbor has lower expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #54 of 143 in Maine. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (48%) and river and rain flooding (23%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Bar Harbor flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Bar Harbor since 1978, $27K in all, or 0.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Bar Harbor in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Hancock County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bar Harbor?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bar Harbor’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Bar Harbor?
By FEMA money that reached Bar Harbor, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 6 households applied for aid, $15K approved, and $575K to the Town of Bar Harbor for repairs.
Is Bar Harbor at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and Bar Harbor’s rate for it is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bar Harbor.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bar Harbor’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.