119 flood insurance claims·$2.0M paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Arenac 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.
7% of Arenac County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
69 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 6 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2020, with 40 claims and $1.4M paid.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Arenac County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 16, 2020 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2004 |
| Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99 | Jan 2, 1999 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
| Drought | Mar 2, 1977 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 12, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
14 since 1996: 2 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 18, 2020 | $4.4M |
| Flood | Jun 13, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2008 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2007 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2007 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jun 4, 2007 | $6,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2006 | — |
| Flood | Mar 11, 2006 | $15,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 18, 2020. A very slow moving low pressure system advanced east from the central Plains. Unusually deep moisture was pushed northward into the Great Lakes region, ahead of this low. Multiple rounds of heavy rain fell in parts of northern lower Michigan on the 17th and 18th. This heavy rain targeted east central and northeast lower Michigan in particular. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches were common by the morning of the 18t…
Flood · Jun 13, 2010. Heavy rain in Northeast Lower Michigan on the early morning of the 12th- part of a wet period of weather in general - produced minor river flooding on the Rifle River near Sterling. Water rose into campgrounds at White's Canoe Livery. The river crested at 6.3 feet, just above the 6.0 feet flood stage.
Flood · Apr 1, 2008. Rainfall and snowmelt on March 31st and April 1st contributed to minor flooding on the Rifle River. Rainfall of around an inch was enough to push the river into the campgroun of White's Canoe Livery, near Sterling. Damage was negligible.
Flood · Mar 22, 2007. Over an inch of rain fell on East Central Lower Michigan in the early morning hours of the 22nd. Snowmelt upstream contributed to runoff, producing flooding in parts of Arenac County. Ice jams on the Rifle and Au Gres Rivers may have contributed to the flooding.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Arenac 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.