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Waldo County Maine Incorporated Areas Montville HighlightedPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Montville · FEMA

For ice storms, Montville’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Montville gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (51%), then hurricanes (33%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 51%Hurricanes 33%Ice storms 10%

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 50%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 50% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
51% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
12
of 22 declared for Waldo County
By hazard

What Montville 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

51%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Hurricanes

33%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Ice storms

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Winter storms top 0% Earthquakes Hail Tornadoes Lightning Strong wind 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 10% of Montville’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 Montville’s grade

River and rain flooding is 51% of the building damage FEMA expects in Montville, and Montville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 10%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Montville sits
Montville
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding51%Hurricanes33%Ice storms10%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $382K a year in losses across Montville: $285K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Montville’s 1,020 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Searsmont town (1,400 residents) and Belmont town (976 residents) and Morrill town (971 residents) and Liberty town (934 residents) and Knox town (811 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 Montville flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Montville 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.
Disasters

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Montville

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$300 aid approved
  2. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$16K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  3. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$25K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  4. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$117K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  5. 2021Severe Storm and Flooding$58K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  6. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$3K to the Town of Montville for repairs
Show all 12
  1. 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides$31K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  2. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$8K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  3. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$18K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  4. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$35K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  5. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$22K to the Town of Montville for repairs
  6. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$44K to the Town of Montville for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MontvilleWaldo County only

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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Montville archive →
Next door

Montville and its neighbors

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

Freedom: not gradedLiberty: not gradedKnox: not gradedSearsmont: hazard risk B−FreedomLibertyKnoxSearsmontMontville
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SearsmontB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding3
MontvilleB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding0
Freedom—670 residents; we grade 1,000+
Liberty—969 residents; we grade 1,000+
Knox—825 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 Montville 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 ↗
Ice storms
  • 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.
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 Montville

Is Montville at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Montville has lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (51%) and hurricanes (33%). 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 Montville 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 Montville?

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

By FEMA money that reached Montville, Severe Storm and Flooding (2022): $117K to the Town of Montville for repairs.

Is Montville at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (51%), and Montville’s rate for it is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Montville.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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