Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Monroe
Monroe isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Monroe yet.
What Monroe 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 Monroe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Monroe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Monroe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Waldo County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Monroe
Disasters that paid out in Monroe itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Monroe), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$39K aid approved$10K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$6K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
- 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$5K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$127K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$20K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
Show all 7
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$12K to the Town of Monroe for repairs
Waldo County has had 22 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 Monroe after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Monroe archive →Monroe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Swanville | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Brooks | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Winterport | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Jackson | — | 567 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 Monroe 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 Monroe
Is Monroe 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 Waldo County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Monroe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Monroe’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 Monroe?
By FEMA money that reached Monroe, Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding (2007): $127K to the Town of Monroe for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Monroe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Monroe’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.