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Rangeley 2003 021Photo: The original uploader was Rangeley at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rangeley · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Rangeley as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rangeley gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%), then hurricanes (18%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 77%Hurricanes 18%Earthquakes 2%

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

more than 53%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 · higher than 53% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
77% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
13
of 29 declared for Franklin County
By hazard

What Rangeley 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

77%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

18%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 12 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Ice storms Hail Winter storms Lightning top 4% Tornadoes Strong wind Wildfire Landslides Cold waves Heat waves
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 15% of Rangeley’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 Rangeley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rangeley, and Rangeley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 18% (higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Rangeley sits
Rangeley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding77%Hurricanes18%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $757K a year in losses across Rangeley: $582K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rangeley’s 1,222 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Rangeley CDP (590 residents) and Dallas plantation (304 residents) and Rangeley plantation (184 residents) and Sandy River plantation (128 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 Rangeley flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Rangeley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Franklin County.
Disasters

13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rangeley

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding3 households applied for aid$45K aid approved$22K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  2. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$5K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  3. 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$19K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$3K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$55K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  6. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$5K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
Show all 13
  1. 2005Snow$6K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  2. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$8K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$8K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  4. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$12K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$6K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  6. 2001Snow$9K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
  7. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$133K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in RangeleyFranklin County only

Franklin County has had 29 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 Rangeley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Rangeley archive →
Next door

Rangeley and its neighbors

Rangeley has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Dallas plantation: not gradedRangeley plantation: not gradedSandy River plantation: not gradedDallas plantationRangeley plantationSandy River plantationRangeley
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RangeleyB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding0
Dallas plantation—220 residents; we grade 1,000+
Rangeley plantation—81 residents; we grade 1,000+
Sandy River plantation—90 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 Rangeley 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 Rangeley

Is Rangeley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rangeley has higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and hurricanes (18%). 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 Rangeley 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 Franklin County, 0.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Rangeley?

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

By FEMA money that reached Rangeley, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams (2000): $133K to the Town of Rangeley for repairs.

Is Rangeley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Rangeley’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rangeley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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