FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Etna than in 81% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Etna gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (65%), then hurricanes (18%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Etna 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.
What’s behind Etna’s grade
River and rain flooding is 65% of the building damage FEMA expects in Etna, and Etna’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 10%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
A− lower expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Etna’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $300K a year in losses across Etna: $236K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Etna flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Etna. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Etna isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Penobscot County.The storms Etna remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Penobscot County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Etna itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Penobscot County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Etna and its neighbors
Etna has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Etna 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 Etna
Is Etna at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Etna has lower expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (65%) 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.
Is Etna 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 Penobscot County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Etna?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Etna’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Etna at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (65%), and Etna’s rate for it is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Etna.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Etna’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.