Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Brunswick faces less hazard damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brunswick gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns, #9 of 143 in Maine. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then hurricanes (28%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1987.
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 Brunswick 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
Hurricanes
Ice storms
Earthquakes
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 Brunswick’s grade
River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brunswick, and Brunswick’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 7%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
A #9 of 143 in Maine; lower expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Brunswick’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Maine town has lower expected damage than 70% of U.S. towns; within the state, Brunswick has less expected damage per building than 94% of Maine towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.5M a year in losses across Brunswick: $3.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brunswick flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1987
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brunswick, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Brunswick isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cumberland County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Brunswick
Disasters that paid out in Brunswick itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Brunswick), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding36 households applied for aid$38K aid approved
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding28 households applied for aid$33K aid approved
Cumberland County has had 32 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Brunswick after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brunswick archive →Brunswick and its neighbors
Brunswick is 2nd of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Brunswick | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Durham | A−less damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Topsham | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| West Bath | B+less damage than 71% | coastal flooding | 3 |
| Harpswell | B+less damage than 69% | coastal flooding | 20 |
| Bath | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
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 Brunswick faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Brunswick
Is Brunswick at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brunswick has lower expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #9 of 143 in Maine. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and hurricanes (28%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Brunswick flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Brunswick since 1987, $3K in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 94% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Brunswick 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 Cumberland County, 1.3% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Brunswick?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brunswick’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 Brunswick?
By FEMA money that reached Brunswick, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 36 households applied for aid, $38K approved.
Is Brunswick at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Brunswick’s rate for it is lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brunswick.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brunswick’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.