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Houlton, MainePhoto: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Houlton · FEMA

FEMA puts Houlton’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Houlton gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns, #83 of 143 in Maine. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%), then hurricanes (12%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1993.

River and rain flooding 78%Hurricanes 12%Earthquakes 5%

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 67%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#83 of 143 in Maine
Hazard risk
B+#83 of 143
in Maine · lower than 67% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
78% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 1993 · $19K
Disasters paid out here
8
of 20 declared for Aroostook County
By hazard

What Houlton 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

78%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

12%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 20 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Winter storms top 0% Strong wind Tornadoes Hail Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 39% of Houlton’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 Houlton’s grade

River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Houlton, and Houlton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Houlton sits
Houlton
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #83 of 143 in Maine; lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Houlton’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding78%Hurricanes12%Earthquakes5%Everything else5%

The typical Maine town has lower expected damage than 70% of U.S. towns; within the state, Houlton has more expected damage per building than 58% of Maine towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.7M a year in losses across Houlton: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Houlton covers 2 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Houlton flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1993

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Houlton, from FEMA’s records: 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1993: 1 claim1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 0 claims2012: 1 claim2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199320102012
19932026
3
paid claims since 1993
$19K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$6K
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Houlton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Aroostook County.
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Houlton

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

  1. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$25K to the Town of Houlton for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2005Snow$22K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
  3. 2005Snow$22K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
  4. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$19K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$17K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$13K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2003Snow$13K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
  2. 2001Snow$9K to the Town of Houlton for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in HoultonAroostook County only

Aroostook County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Houlton archive →
Next door

Houlton and its neighbors

Houlton is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Ludlow: not gradedHodgdon: hazard risk A−Littleton: not gradedNew Limerick: not gradedLudlowHodgdonLittletonNew LimerickHoulton
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HodgdonA−less damage than 75%river and rain flooding—
HoultonB+less damage than 67%river and rain flooding3
Ludlow—444 residents; we grade 1,000+
Littleton—887 residents; we grade 1,000+
New Limerick—372 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Houlton faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Houlton

Is Houlton at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Houlton has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #83 of 143 in Maine. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and hurricanes (12%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Houlton flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Houlton since 1993, $19K in all, or 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Houlton 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 Aroostook County, 0.3% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Houlton?

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

By FEMA money that reached Houlton, Severe Storms and Flooding (2010): $25K to the Town of Houlton for repairs.

Is Houlton at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Houlton’s rate for it is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Houlton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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