Photo: Gkuriger · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Chebeague Island
Chebeague Island isn’t graded for hazard risk: Chebeague Island has 555 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Chebeague Island 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
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.
Does Chebeague Island flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Chebeague Island. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Chebeague Island 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.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chebeague Island
Disasters that paid out in Chebeague Island itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Chebeague Island), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding7 households applied for aid$600 aid approved$1.2M to the Town of Chebeague Island for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$4K to the Town of Chebeague Island for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$171K to the Town of Chebeague Island for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$19K to the Town of Chebeague Island for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding8 households applied for aid$767 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 Chebeague Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chebeague Island archive →Chebeague Island and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Portland | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 34 |
| Cumberland | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Harpswell | B+less damage than 69% | coastal flooding | 20 |
| Yarmouth | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
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 Chebeague Island 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.
- 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 Chebeague Island
Is Chebeague Island 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 Chebeague Island?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chebeague Island’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 Chebeague Island?
By FEMA money that reached Chebeague Island, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 7 households applied for aid, $600 approved, and $1.2M to the Town of Chebeague Island for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chebeague Island.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chebeague Island’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.