Storms, floods and disasters in Beals
Beals isn’t graded for hazard risk: Beals has 498 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Beals faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
Hurricanes
River and rain 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.
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Beals
Disasters that paid out in Beals itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Beals), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding9 households applied for aid$7K aid approved$147K to the Town of Beals for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$4K to the Town of Beals for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$800 to the Town of Beals for repairs
Old photos of Beals after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Beals archive →Beals and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Beals faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Beals
Is Beals 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.
How much is flood insurance in Beals?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Beals’ 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 Beals?
By FEMA money that reached Beals, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 9 households applied for aid, $7K approved, and $147K to the Town of Beals for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Beals.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Beals’ 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.