310 flood insurance claims·$4.4M paid·5 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 Berrien 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.
Flash flooding from severe thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Berrien County, with NOAA records showing 18 flash flood events compared to 9 standard flood events over the last 30 years. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including heavy rain rates from thunderstorms on March 31, 2023, and slow-moving storm clusters along a stalled frontal boundary that produced flooding on July 28 and 29, 2023. Additional minor flooding accompanied severe storms that moved across the area on April 5, 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims are distributed across multiple zones, with Zone A accounting for the highest volume at 133 claims, averaging a payout of $27,743 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 54 claims with an average payout of $30,725 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 38 claims with an average payout of $43,327 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 58 claims averaging $6,865 with an average water depth of 2 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 26 claims averaging $13,618 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists monitoring properties in Zone A and various designations of Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risks, given the substantial claim history and recorded water depths in these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
32% of Berrien County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
197 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 4 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 2018, with 54 claims and $2.0M 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Berrien County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2004 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99 | Jan 2, 1999 |
| Flooding | Mar 29, 1982 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 8, 1980 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
| Severe Storms, High Winds & Flooding | Apr 26, 1975 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 31, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2023 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2023 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2021 | $1.3M |
| Flood | Sep 7, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 31, 2023. Thunderstorms developing in the evening of March 31 resulted in multiple weather hazards. Hail nearly 2 inches in diameter was observed, trees were downed from thunderstorm wind, and flooding occurred from heavy rain rates. Thunderstorms went on to produce tornadoes in Indiana, and later Ohio.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2023. Storms developed along a stalled frontal boundary on the evening of July 28th. These storms developed in clusters and were slow moving with heavy rain that produced some flooding. A small cluster of storms also produced brief wind damage during the morning hours of the 28th.
Flood · Apr 5, 2023. Two lines of storms moved across the area on April 5th, 2023 with isolated damaging wind, hail, and heavy rain. There was also some minor flooding.
Flood · Jun 26, 2021. Two lines of strong storms swept through the northern and western portions of the CWA from 3p-9p. Several storms in the first line exhibited rotation. A few funnel clouds were reported but no confirmed tornadoes. The second line had mainly straight-line winds. Heavy rain and flooding was also reported.
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 Berrien 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.