Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Mars Hill

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
MarshillmountainPhoto: Sugeknight2008 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Mars Hill · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Mars Hill faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mars Hill gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1980.

River and rain flooding 82%Hurricanes 9%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 56%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 56% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1980 · $87
Disasters paid out here
9
of 20 declared for Aroostook County
By hazard

What Mars Hill 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

82%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Winter storms top 0% Strong wind Hail Tornadoes Wildfire Ice storms 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 40% of Mars Hill’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 Mars Hill’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mars Hill, and Mars Hill’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mars Hill sits
Mars Hill
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Hurricanes9%Earthquakes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $786K a year in losses across Mars Hill: $405K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mars Hill’s 1,360 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Mars Hill CDP (818 residents) and Blaine town (667 residents) and Westfield town (455 residents) and Blaine CDP (250 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 Mars Hill flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1980

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mars Hill, from FEMA’s records: 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1980: 1 claim1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 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: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 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 claims1980
19802026
1
paid claims since 1980
$87
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$87
average claim
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mars Hill 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

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mars Hill

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

  1. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$2K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  2. 2005Snow$11K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  3. 2005Snow$10K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  4. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$9K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  6. 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2003Snow$8K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  2. 2001Snow$4K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
  3. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$27K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Mars HillAroostook 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 Mars Hill after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Mars Hill archive →
Next door

Mars Hill and its neighbors

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

Blaine: not gradedEaston: hazard risk AWestfield: not gradedBlaineEastonWestfieldMars Hill
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
EastonAless damage than 87%river and rain flooding2
Mars HillBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding1
Blaine—706 residents; we grade 1,000+
Westfield—389 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 Mars Hill 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 Mars Hill

Is Mars Hill at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mars Hill has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) and hurricanes (9%). 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.

Does Mars Hill flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Mars Hill since 1980, $87 in all, or 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Mars Hill 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 Mars Hill?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mars Hill, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams (2000): $27K to the Town of Mars Hill for repairs.

Is Mars Hill at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Mars Hill’s rate for it is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mars Hill.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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