Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Mercer
Mercer isn’t graded for hazard risk: Mercer has 718 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Mercer 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.
Does Mercer flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mercer. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Mercer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Somerset County.13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mercer
Disasters that paid out in Mercer itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Mercer), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding7 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$653K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$344K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$93K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$12K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$40K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2005Snow$4K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
Show all 13
- 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$2K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$15K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$45K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$12K to the Town of Mercer for repairs
Somerset County has had 25 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Mercer after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mercer archive →Mercer and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | B+less damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Norridgewock | B−less damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| New Sharon | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Starks | — | 556 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Smithfield | — | 856 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.
Get ready for what Mercer 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 Mercer
Is Mercer 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 Somerset County, 0.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Mercer?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mercer’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 Mercer?
By FEMA money that reached Mercer, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): 7 households applied for aid, $3K approved, and $653K to the Town of Mercer for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mercer.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mercer’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.