Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Canton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Main Street, Canton, MEPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Canton · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Canton as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Canton 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 (71%), then hurricanes (21%). Flood insurance has paid 61 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 71%Hurricanes 21%Ice storms 4%

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
71% of expected building damage
Flood claims
61
paid since 1978 · $590K
Flooded more than once
7
properties
Disasters paid out here
12
of 34 declared for Oxford County

What stands out about Canton’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Moved out of harm’s way105 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.Remembers 198725 flood claims were paid for 1987 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Canton 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

71%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

21%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 10 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms top 5% Earthquakes Winter storms Lightning top 2% Tornadoes Strong wind Hail 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 11% of Canton’s 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 Canton’s grade

River and rain flooding is 71% of the building damage FEMA expects in Canton, and Canton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Canton sits
Canton
Least damageMiddleMost damage

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

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding71%Hurricanes21%Ice storms4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $335K a year in losses across Canton: $207K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Canton’s 1,125 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Dixfield town (2,253 residents) and Dixfield CDP (1,323 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 Canton flood? Sometimes: 61 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Canton, from FEMA’s records: 136.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 11 claims1979: 0 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 2 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 4 claims1987: 25 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 2 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: 17 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 claims197819872003
19782026
61
paid claims since 1978
$590K
paid to owners
7
homes flooded more than once
$10K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Canton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Oxford County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
105flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Canton

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding21 households applied for aid$78K aid approved$15K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$33K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  3. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$3K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  4. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$14K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  5. 2005Record Snow$4K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  6. 2005Snow$6K to the Town of Canton for repairs
Show all 12
  1. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$5K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  2. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$107K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  4. 2002Severe Winter Cold and Frost$20K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  5. 2001Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$1K to the Town of Canton for repairs
  6. 2001Snow$10K to the Town of Canton for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CantonOxford County only

Oxford County has had 34 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 Canton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Canton archive →
Next door

Canton and its neighbors

Canton is 6th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Peru: hazard risk B−Jay: hazard risk B−Hartford: hazard risk B−Livermore: hazard risk B+Dixfield: hazard risk C+PeruJayHartfordLivermoreDixfieldCanton
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
LivermoreB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding3
JayB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding1
PeruB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding5
HartfordB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding4
DixfieldC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding3
CantonC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding61

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 Canton 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 ↗
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 Canton

Is Canton at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Canton 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 (71%) and hurricanes (21%). 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 Canton flood?

Flood insurance has paid 61 claims in Canton since 1978, $590K in all, or 136.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 7 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Canton 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 Oxford County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Canton?

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

By FEMA money that reached Canton, Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams (2003): $107K to the Town of Canton for repairs.

Is Canton at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (71%), and Canton’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Canton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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