Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station · Photo: Fran Schwanck · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Swans Island
Swans Island isn’t graded for hazard risk: Swans Island has 438 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1982.
What Swans Island faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal flooding
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 Swans Island flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Swans Island, from FEMA’s records.
Swans Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hancock County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Swans Island
Disasters that paid out in Swans Island itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Swans Island), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding13 households applied for aid$168 aid approved$191K to the Town of Swans Island for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides$16K to the Town of Swans Island for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$36K to the Town of Swans Island for repairs
Hancock County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Swans Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Swans Island archive →Swans Island 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Isle | B+less damage than 69% | hurricanes | 1 |
| Frenchboro | — | 30 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Isle au Haut | — | 69 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Brooklin | — | 869 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 Swans Island faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Swans Island
Does Swans Island flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Swans Island since 1982, $5K in all.
Is Swans Island 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 Hancock County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Swans Island?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Swans Island’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 Swans Island?
By FEMA money that reached Swans Island, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 13 households applied for aid, $168 approved, and $191K to the Town of Swans Island for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Swans Island.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Swans Island’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.