Porter-Parsonfield Bridge · Photo: --Hugh Manatee 14:08, 11 February 2011 (UTC) · CC0Porter’s building-damage rate from ice storms is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Porter gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%), then hurricanes (20%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Porter 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.
What’s behind Porter’s grade
River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Porter, and Porter’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 10%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Porter’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $575K a year in losses across Porter: $453K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Porter flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Porter. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Porter isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Oxford County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Porter
Disasters that paid out in Porter itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Porter), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding7 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
Oxford County has had 34 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 Porter after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Porter archive →Porter and its neighbors
Porter is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsonsfield | Bless damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Brownfield | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Hiram | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Porter | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Freedom | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
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 Porter 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 Porter
Is Porter at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Porter has higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and hurricanes (20%). 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 Porter 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 Oxford County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Porter?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Porter’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 Porter?
By FEMA money that reached Porter, Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding (2007): 7 households applied for aid, $9K approved.
Is Porter at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Porter’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Porter.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Porter’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.