Photo: H.L.I.T. · CC BY 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cranberry Isles
Cranberry Isles isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cranberry Isles has 196 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2024.
What Cranberry Isles faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
River and rain flooding
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 Cranberry Isles flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2024
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cranberry Isles, from FEMA’s records.
Cranberry Isles isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hancock County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Cranberry Isles
Disasters that paid out in Cranberry Isles itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Cranberry Isles), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$593K to the Town of Cranberry Isles for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
Hancock County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Cranberry Isles after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cranberry Isles archive →Cranberry Isles 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Desert | Bless damage than 61% | hurricanes | — |
| Southwest Harbor | Bless damage than 56% | hurricanes | 7 |
| Frenchboro | — | 30 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Northeast Harbor | — | 419 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Winter Harbor | — | 493 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.
Get ready for what Cranberry Isles faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- 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 Cranberry Isles
Does Cranberry Isles flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Cranberry Isles since 2024, $134K in all.
Is Cranberry Isles 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 Hancock County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cranberry Isles?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cranberry Isles’ 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 Cranberry Isles?
By FEMA money that reached Cranberry Isles, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 2 households applied for aid, $0 approved, and $593K to the Town of Cranberry Isles for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cranberry Isles.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cranberry Isles’ 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.