Nickels-Sortwell House · Photo: WestportWiki · CC BY-SA 3.0For coastal flooding, Wiscasset’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wiscasset gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns, #127 of 143 in Maine. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (44%), then hurricanes (29%). 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 Wiscasset 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
Coastal flooding
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 Wiscasset’s grade
River and rain flooding is 44% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wiscasset, and Wiscasset’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 12%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #127 of 143 in Maine; higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Wiscasset’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Maine town has lower expected damage than 70% of U.S. towns; within the state, Wiscasset has more expected damage per building than 89% of Maine towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Wiscasset: $922K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Wiscasset flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wiscasset. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wiscasset isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lincoln County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wiscasset
Disasters that paid out in Wiscasset itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Wiscasset), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding14 households applied for aid$23K aid approved$35K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
- 2017Severe Storm and Flooding$48K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$8K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides$26K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$45K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding7 households applied for aid$6K aid approved$8K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
Show all 7
- 2001Snow$7K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs
Lincoln County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Wiscasset after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wiscasset archive →Wiscasset and its neighbors
Wiscasset is 5th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woolwich | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Edgecomb | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Newcastle | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Dresden | B−more damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Wiscasset | B−more damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Alna | — | 818 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Westport Island | — | 835 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 Wiscasset 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.
- 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.
- 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 Wiscasset
Is Wiscasset at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wiscasset has higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #127 of 143 in Maine. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (44%) and hurricanes (29%). 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 Wiscasset 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 Lincoln County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wiscasset?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wiscasset’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 Wiscasset?
By FEMA money that reached Wiscasset, Severe Storms and Flooding (2024): 14 households applied for aid, $23K approved, and $35K to the Town of Wiscasset for repairs.
Is Wiscasset at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (44%), and Wiscasset’s rate for it is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wiscasset.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wiscasset’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.