Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Belfast faces less hazard damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belfast gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns, #49 of 143 in Maine. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (36%), then river and rain flooding (32%). Flood insurance has paid 18 claims here since 2009.
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 Belfast’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Belfast 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
Ice storms
Coastal flooding
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 Belfast’s grade
Hurricanes are 36% of the building damage FEMA expects in Belfast, and Belfast’s rate of hurricanes damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 12%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #49 of 143 in Maine; lower expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Belfast’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, Belfast has less expected damage per building than 66% of Maine towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Belfast: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Belfast flood? Sometimes: 18 flood claims since 2009
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Belfast, from FEMA’s records: 4.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 56% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Belfast 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.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Belfast
Disasters that paid out in Belfast itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Belfast), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding44 households applied for aid$22K aid approved$707K to the City of Belfast for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$18K to the City of Belfast for repairs
- 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$44K to the City of Belfast for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2007Flooding$7K to the City of Belfast for repairs
Waldo County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Belfast after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Belfast archive →Belfast and its neighbors
Belfast has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. 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 Belfast 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Belfast
Is Belfast at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belfast has lower expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #49 of 143 in Maine. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (36%) and river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Belfast flood?
Flood insurance has paid 18 claims in Belfast since 2009, $1.0M in all, or 4.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 56% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Belfast 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 Waldo County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Belfast?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Belfast’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 Belfast?
By FEMA money that reached Belfast, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 44 households applied for aid, $22K approved, and $707K to the City of Belfast for repairs.
Is Belfast at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (36%), and Belfast’s rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Belfast.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Belfast’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.