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FEMA flood zones · Michigan

Alger County, Michigan Flood Zone Map

7 flood insurance claims·$51,924 paid

Less than 1% of Alger County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Alger County, Michigan. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.

Flood claims, year by year

The worst year was 2022, with 3 claims and $15,912 paid.

1992: 1 claims1993: 1 claims1995: 1 claims1996: 1 claims2022: 3 claims19801990200020102020

Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.

In their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Alger County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →

Federal disasters

5 federal disaster declarations since 1977.

DisasterBegan
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationAug 29, 2005
Blizzards & SnowstormsJan 27, 1978
DroughtMar 2, 1977

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

8 since 1996: 4 flash floods, 3 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.

EventDateDamage
Flash FloodApr 28, 2025$75,000
Flash FloodApr 28, 2025$3,500
FloodMay 5, 2023$1.0M
FloodOct 10, 2018$1,000
Flash FloodSep 5, 2018—
Flash FloodSep 5, 2018$15,000
Lakeshore FloodOct 24, 2017$50,000
FloodNov 25, 2005—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2025. A low pressure lifting through the region on the 28th resulted in strong thunderstorms that produced severe hail, strong winds, and flooding rainfall.

Flood · May 5, 2023. The historic late season snowstorm of May 1-2 dumped three to more than four inches of liquid water equivalent precipitation over the higher terrain of Baraga, Marquette and western Alger counties. This significant precipitation event led to a second round of spring snowmelt flooding over portions of west and north central portions of Upper Michigan into early May.

Flood · Oct 10, 2018. Heavy rain of more than two inches caused flooding on Rock River Road north of Chatham on the afternoon of the 10th.

Flash Flood · Sep 5, 2018. Heavy rainfall of 3 to 5 inches from late on the 4th into the morning of the 5th caused flooding over portions of central Upper Michigan which continued into the 6th.

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Alger County

If a building in Alger County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.

Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.