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A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Mapleton · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Mapleton than in 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mapleton gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then hurricanes (13%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 75%Hurricanes 13%Earthquakes 4%

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 84%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in Maine · lower than 84% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
75% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
11
of 20 declared for Aroostook County
By hazard

What Mapleton 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

75%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

13%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 20 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Winter storms top 0% Ice storms Strong wind Hail Tornadoes Wildfire Lightning 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 49% of Mapleton’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 Mapleton’s grade

River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mapleton, and Mapleton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mapleton sits
Mapleton
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding75%Hurricanes13%Earthquakes4%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $877K a year in losses across Mapleton: $369K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mapleton’s 1,886 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Mapleton CDP (623 residents) and Chapman town (491 residents) and Castle Hill town (373 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 Mapleton flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mapleton 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

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mapleton

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

  1. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$2K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  2. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$44K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  3. 2005Snow$4K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  4. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$38K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  5. 2005Snow$4K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  6. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$4K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
Show all 11
  1. 2003Snow$2K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$2K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$4K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  4. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
  5. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$17K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MapletonAroostook 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 Mapleton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Mapleton archive →
Next door

Mapleton and its neighbors

Mapleton has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Washburn: hazard risk B+Chapman: not gradedCastle Hill: not gradedWashburnChapmanCastle HillMapleton
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MapletonA−less damage than 84%river and rain flooding0
WashburnB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding4
Chapman—388 residents; we grade 1,000+
Castle Hill—281 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 Mapleton 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 Mapleton

Is Mapleton at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mapleton has lower expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and hurricanes (13%). 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 Mapleton 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 Mapleton?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mapleton, Severe Storms and Flooding (2008): $44K to the Town of Mapleton for repairs.

Is Mapleton at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Mapleton’s rate for it is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mapleton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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