Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Chelsea’s building-damage rate from ice storms is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chelsea gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #91 of 143 in Maine. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%), then hurricanes (18%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim 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 Chelsea 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 Chelsea’s grade
River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chelsea, and Chelsea’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 9%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B #91 of 143 in Maine; lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Chelsea’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, Chelsea has more expected damage per building than 63% of Maine towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $773K a year in losses across Chelsea: $656K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Chelsea flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1987
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chelsea, from FEMA’s records: 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Chelsea isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kennebec County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chelsea
Disasters that paid out in Chelsea itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Chelsea), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding16 households applied for aid$14K aid approved$43K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$9K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$7K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$341K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$205K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$5K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
Show all 9
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$6K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$39K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs
Kennebec 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 Chelsea after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chelsea archive →Chelsea and its neighbors
Chelsea has the lowest expected damage per building of the 7 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | Bless damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Farmingdale | Bless damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Augusta | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 94 |
| Whitefield | B−less damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Pittston | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Randolph | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Hallowell | Dmore damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 69 |
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 Chelsea 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 Chelsea
Is Chelsea at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chelsea has lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #91 of 143 in Maine. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%) and hurricanes (18%). 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 Chelsea flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Chelsea since 1987, $452 in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Chelsea 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 Kennebec County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Chelsea?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chelsea’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 Chelsea?
By FEMA money that reached Chelsea, Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding (2007): $341K to the Town of Chelsea for repairs.
Is Chelsea at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Chelsea’s rate for it is lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chelsea.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chelsea’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.