New Report: Maine Is One of the Most 'Disaster-Ready' States

According to a new study, our Pine Tree State is one of the most prepared and ready for a disaster.

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Listen, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Maine and Mainers are ready for a disaster—we’re ready for anything. We’re resilient. We face a lot: blizzards, bone-chilling cold temps, hurricane-force winds, flooding, and sometimes a mix of those all at once.

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Rocky said it best, ‘It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’ And that’s what Mainers do: keep moving forward.

But how does one even determine the most ‘disaster-ready’ states? And what does ‘disaster-ready’ even mean?

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The publication SmileHub recently put together a study, highlighting '2024’s Best States for Disaster Preparedness.’

SmileHub's methodology for determining '2024’s Best States for Disaster Preparedness' involved comparing the 50 states across three key dimensions: Resilience Infrastructure & Support Capacity, Disaster Prevention Planning & Funding, and Disaster Risk & Lasting Damage.

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SmileHub used 14 relevant metrics, each graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the highest level of preparedness. For certain metrics, the square root of the population size was used to avoid overcompensation for population differences. Each state’s weighted average across all metrics was calculated to determine its overall score, which was then used to rank the states.

So, how did Maine rank in this report in regard to being ‘disaster-ready?’

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In SmileHub’s study of ‘2024’s Best States for Disaster Preparedness,’ Maine ranked 14th overall. While it placed 39th in ‘Resilience Infrastructure & Support Capacity’ and 25th in ‘Disaster Prevention Planning & Funding,’ Maine excelled in ‘Disaster Risk & Lasting Damage,’ ranking first in the nation.

Additionally, Maine achieved a high ‘Community Resilience Score,’ securing the 5th spot in this category.

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