28 flood insurance claims·$312,618 paid
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 Delta 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1986, with 13 claims and $37,508 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Delta County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
6 federal disaster declarations since 1977.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Deep Freeze | Jan 10, 1994 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
| Drought | Mar 2, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
14 since 1996: 6 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 13, 2023 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2022 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Oct 21, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 20, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2014 | $85,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2010 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2007 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2006 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 13, 2023. Rapid melting of much above normal snowpack caused widespread, and at times, extensive flooding over portions of west and central Upper Michigan from the 12th into the 25th. Extensive impacts from the flooding caused Governor Whitmer to declare a state of emergency declaration for eight counties in west and central Upper Michigan on the 21st.
Flood · Apr 14, 2022. Snowmelt combined with periods of heavy rain resulted in minor flooding along the Sturgeon River near Nahma Junction in Delta County in mid-April.
Lakeshore Flood · Oct 21, 2019. An intense low pressure system moving from the Northern Plains across western Lake Superior produced strong east to southeast winds across the area which induced lakeshore flooding over the Bay of Green Bay and portions of the Keweenaw Peninsula on the 21st.
Flood · Apr 20, 2019. Abundant and anomalously wet snow pack along with periods of moderate to heavy rain contributed to widespread minor river flooding across much of west and central Upper Michigan from the 18th through the end of the month.
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 Delta 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.