467 flood insurance claims·$3.3M paid·4 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 Genesee 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 risk in Genesee County is characterized by a nearly even mix of standard floods and flash floods, with 18 flood events and 16 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database. Severe weather events frequently drive this risk, such as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl bringing 5 to 7 inches of rain to parts of the county in July 2024, and prolonged heavy rainfall causing road closures in Flint during August 2023.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows impacts across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 266 claims averaging $8,261 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties outside mapped high-risk areas also experience significant impacts; Zone X (shaded) recorded 43 claims with the highest average payout at $21,011 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while unshaded Zone X recorded 68 claims averaging $5,715 with an average water depth of 7 inches. Zone X properties and Zone A properties should pay the most attention to flood risk given these substantial claim histories and average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
29% of Genesee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
377 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 5 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 1985, with 83 claims and $367,154 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Genesee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2004 |
| Power Outage | Aug 14, 2003 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes,and Flooding | Jul 2, 1997 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 5, 1985 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 18 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 11, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 20, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2014 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 12, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2025. One and half to two inches of rain falling in 2 hours produced flash flooding in and around Flint.
Flood · Jul 10, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Beryl brought 1.5 to 4 inches of rain over most of southeast Michigan on July 10, but parts of Genessee county saw 5 to 7 inches which caused flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2023. Numerous showers and thunderstorms filtered in across portions of Southeast Michigan through the evening of August 11, 2023. The strongest storms were found within the vicinity of or along a warm front, which produced sporadic reports of hail up to an inch and some isolated damaging wind gusts. Prolonged heavy rainfall also led to flooding within Flint which led to multiple road closures. The most significant dama…
Flood · Jan 11, 2020. A winter storm tracking through southeast Michigan brought heavy rain and freezing rain, with about a quarter of an inch ice from US-10 south to about M-57. Many accidents and spin outs occurred across the Tri-Cities region and Flint vicinity due to the icy roads. In addition, strong northeast winds lead to high water levels and large waves causing significant lakeshore flooding and erosion along Bay, Tuscola, and…
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 Genesee 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.