6 flood insurance claims·$117,086 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 Houghton 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Houghton County, Michigan, backed by 18 general flood events, 9 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, and 1 lakeshore flood event recorded over the last 30 years.
Recent history underscores this severe weather threat. In June 2024, heavy thunderstorm rains of 3 to 5 inches washed out culverts across the area. A subsequent series of training thunderstorms dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain between 0300 and 0730 EST on July 23, prompting the Governor of Michigan to declare a state of emergency.
Property owners in both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas must evaluate their exposure. National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed in Zone X, with an average payout of $22,313 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, as well as claims in Zone A, which averaged $27,835 with 0 inches of recorded average water depth. Residents in these mapped zones, along with property owners in low-lying areas vulnerable to sudden convective rainfall, should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Houghton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
9 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 16, 2018 |
| Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2002 |
| 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.
28 since 1996: 9 flash floods, 18 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2025 | $5.5M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2025 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2023 | $18.0M |
| Flood | May 4, 2023 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Apr 25, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 23, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2025. A series of training thunderstorms brought flash flooding to portions of Houghton and Ontonagon Counties between 0300 and 0730EST on July 23. Four-hour rainfall totals ranged from two to four inches in the area. The Governor of Michigan declared a state of emergency as a result of the flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2025. A warm front lifting through Upper Michigan caused thunderstorms which resulted in flooding in Houghton County and wind damage in western and central Upper Michigan.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2024. Heavy rains of 3 to 5 inches from thunderstorms washed out culverts over portions of Ontonagon and Houghton counties during the early morning of the 19th.
Flood · Apr 12, 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.
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 Houghton 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.