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FranklinME SchoodicGrangePhoto: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Franklin · FEMA

Franklin’s building-damage rate from coastal flooding is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Franklin gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (40%), then river and rain flooding (32%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 40%River and rain flooding 32%Coastal flooding 16%

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

less than 62%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B
in Maine · lower than 62% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
40% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 18 declared for Hancock County

What stands out about Franklin’s natural hazards

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

Lower expected damage than 62% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Coastal flooding: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 15.7% of the damage it expects.
By hazard

What Franklin faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

40%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

River and rain flooding

32%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 94% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

16%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts

Ice storms

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Winter storms top 1% Earthquakes Hail Tornadoes Lightning Strong wind Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 11% of Franklin’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 Franklin’s grade

Hurricanes are 40% of the building damage FEMA expects in Franklin, and Franklin’s rate of hurricanes damage is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 16%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Franklin sits
Franklin
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes40%River and rain flooding32%Coastal flooding16%Everything else12%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $497K a year in losses across Franklin: $378K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Franklin’s 1,567 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Sullivan town (1,219 residents) and Sorrento town (279 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 Franklin flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Franklin. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Franklin 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.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Franklin

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms and Flooding7 households applied for aid$19K aid approved
  2. 2007Flooding$19K to the Town of Franklin for repairs
  3. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$13K to the Town of Franklin for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in FranklinHancock County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Franklin after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Franklin archive →
Next door

Franklin and its neighbors

Franklin is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Hancock: hazard risk B+Sullivan: hazard risk BHancockSullivanFranklin
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HancockB+less damage than 70%hurricanes3
SullivanBless damage than 62%hurricanes—
FranklinBless damage than 62%hurricanes0

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 Franklin faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

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 ↗
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 ↗
When the tide surges
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Ice storms
  • 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.
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 Franklin

Is Franklin at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Franklin has lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (40%) and river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Franklin 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 Franklin?

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

By FEMA money that reached Franklin, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 7 households applied for aid, $19K approved.

Is Franklin at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (40%), and Franklin’s rate for it is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Franklin.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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