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Waldo County Maine Incorporated Areas Brooks HighlightedPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Brooks · FEMA

Brooks’s building-damage rate from ice storms is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brooks gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then hurricanes (25%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1986.

River and rain flooding 62%Hurricanes 25%Ice storms 8%

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

more than 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Maine · higher than 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
62% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1986 · $500
Disasters paid out here
8
of 22 declared for Waldo County
By hazard

What Brooks faces

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

River and rain flooding

62%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Hurricanes

25%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Ice storms

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Winter storms top 0% Earthquakes Hail Tornadoes Lightning Strong wind Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 12% of Brooks’ expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Brooks’ grade

River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brooks, and Brooks’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 8%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Brooks sits
Brooks
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Brooks’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding62%Hurricanes25%Ice storms8%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $382K a year in losses across Brooks: $284K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Brooks’ 1,010 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Swanville town (1,377 residents) and Monroe town (931 residents) and Waldo town (795 residents) and Jackson town (610 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Brooks flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1986

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brooks, from FEMA’s records: 1.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 66% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1986: 1 claim1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims1986
19862026
1
paid claims since 1986
$500
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$500
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Brooks 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.
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Brooks

Disasters that paid out in Brooks itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Brooks), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
  2. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$87K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
  3. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$27K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
  4. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$6K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
  6. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$64K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$2K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
  2. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$4K to the Town of Brooks for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BrooksWaldo County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Brooks after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Brooks archive →
Next door

Brooks and its neighbors

Brooks has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Knox: not gradedMonroe: not gradedWaldo: not gradedJackson: not gradedKnoxMonroeWaldoJacksonBrooks
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BrooksC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding1
Knox—825 residents; we grade 1,000+
Monroe—not graded yet
Waldo—926 residents; we grade 1,000+
Jackson—567 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Brooks faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Ice storms
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Brooks

Is Brooks at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brooks has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and hurricanes (25%). 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 Brooks flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Brooks since 1986, $500 in all, or 1.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 66% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Brooks 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 Brooks?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brooks’ 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 Brooks?

By FEMA money that reached Brooks, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): $87K to the Town of Brooks for repairs.

Is Brooks at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Brooks’ rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brooks.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brooks’ 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.