37 flood insurance claims·$292,068 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 Ionia 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.
Less than 1% of Ionia County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 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 2019, with 9 claims and $117,454 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Ionia County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Aug 24, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 25, 2021 |
| Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms | May 29, 1998 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
9 since 1996: 3 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 18, 2020 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2019 | $400,000 |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2013 | $7.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2009 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2004 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Feb 24, 2001 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Feb 9, 2001 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2000 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 18, 2020. Significant rainfall fell across all of Lower Michigan on May 17 and 18 with many locations in Southwest Lower Michigan reporting over 3 inches of rain. This was the culmination of an already wet week that had experienced three separate episodes of heavy rain. As a result, soil was already saturated and this additional rain immediately became runoff instead of soaking into the ground. There were many reports of r…
Flood · Feb 6, 2019. On February 6, 2019 an ice jam formed on the Grand River in Portland. Approximately 50 residents were evacuated from their homes along Water Street in downtown Portland. 2 days later, on February 8, the ice jam shifted and thickened, causing additional flooding. Many businesses along Kent Street were flooded, and residents along Canal and Market streets were evacuated. The ice jam held for more than 3 weeks before…
Flood · Apr 17, 2013. Record flooding occurred during the month of April and record crests occurred on the lower portions of the Grand River at Ionia, Lowell, Ada, Comstock Park, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Due to the severity of the flooding, Michigan���s Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of disaster for 19 counties and two cities. ||The two cities declared in the disaster were Grand Rapids and Ionia. The counties included…
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2009. Thunderstorms developed and moved across Lake Michigan during the evening hours on June 19th. Several hours of intense rainfall occurred starting around 7:00 PM EST. The ground was already saturated from early morning thunderstorms that produced very heavy rainfall. In addition to the heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes accompanied the thunderstorms.
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 Ionia 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.