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First Universalist Society of West SumnerFirst Universalist Society of West Sumner · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Sumner · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Sumner faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sumner 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 (69%), then hurricanes (23%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 69%Hurricanes 23%Ice storms 4%

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
69% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
15
of 34 declared for Oxford County
By hazard

What Sumner 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

69%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

23%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 10 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms top 4% Earthquakes Winter storms Lightning top 2% Tornadoes Strong wind Wildfire Landslides top 5% Hail 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 12% of Sumner’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 Sumner’s grade

River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sumner, and Sumner’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sumner sits
Sumner
Least damageMiddleMost damage

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

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding69%Hurricanes23%Ice storms4%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $281K a year in losses across Sumner: $193K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sumner’s 994 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Peru town (1,488 residents) and Hartford town (1,203 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 Sumner flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sumner. 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

Sumner 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.
Disasters

15 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sumner

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

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding4 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$14K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$28K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  3. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding$7K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  4. 2011Tropical Storm Irene$3K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  5. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$50K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  6. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$68K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
Show all 15
  1. 2005Record Snow$1K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  2. 2005Snow$1K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  3. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$1K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  4. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$8K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  5. 2003Snow$922 to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  6. 2001Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$3K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  7. 2001Snow$2K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  8. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$35K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
  9. 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$16K to the Town of Sumner for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SumnerOxford County only

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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Sumner archive →
Next door

Sumner and its neighbors

Sumner is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Hartford: hazard risk B−Buckfield: hazard risk B−Woodstock: hazard risk B+Peru: hazard risk B−West Paris: hazard risk CHartfordBuckfieldWoodstockPeruWest ParisSumner
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WoodstockB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding—
HartfordB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding4
PeruB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding5
SumnerB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding0
BuckfieldB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding1
West ParisCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding—

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 Sumner 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 Sumner

Is Sumner at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sumner 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 (69%) and hurricanes (23%). 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 Sumner 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 Sumner?

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

By FEMA money that reached Sumner, Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams (2005): $68K to the Town of Sumner for repairs.

Is Sumner at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Sumner’s rate for it is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sumner.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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