46 flood insurance claims·$1.2M paid·2 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 Lake 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.
35% of Lake County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
23 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 3 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 8 claims and $605,721 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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Lake County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 6, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 5, 1985 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
| Drought | Mar 2, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
9 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 20, 2019 | $800,000 |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2013 | $3.0M |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2012 | $70,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2011 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2008 | $2.0M |
| Flood | May 23, 2004 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 9, 2001 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 1998 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 20, 2019. A round of severe storms resulted in numerous reports of downed trees and power lines. Peak wind gusts were estimated at up to around 70 to 80 mph. In addition 6 to 10 inches of rain fell across much of Mason and Lake counties. There were several road washouts, a few culvert failures, and a couple of bridge washouts. At least 48 homes were damaged by water in Lake county.
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 · May 3, 2012. An upper low moving over a warm front that stretched across northern Lower Michigan set the stage for heavy rainfall on May 3rd. Training thunderstorms (storms that move over the same location) produced 5 to 7 inches of rainfall across portions of Mason and Lake counties. The heavy rainfall resulted in roads that were either flooded or washed out. As the day progressed, strong to severe storms developed in the wa…
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2011. An isolated severe thunderstorm produced wind damage in Big Rapids, where emergency management reported that 15 trees were snapped off or blown down. Flooding also occurred in Big Rapids. The Robin Hood airport in Big Rapids received 5.97 inches of rainfall.
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 Lake 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.