21 flood insurance claims·$233,426 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 Marquette 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.
Marquette County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by riverine floods and flash floods, supported by recorded events including 19 floods, 17 flash floods, and 6 lakeshore floods resulting in 2 deaths over the last 30 years. Spring snowmelt combined with heavy precipitation frequently drives this activity, as demonstrated by a historic late-season snowstorm in May 2023 that dumped three to over four inches of liquid water equivalent precipitation and caused widespread flooding. Rapid melting of above-normal snowpack also led to extensive flooding in April 2023, prompting a state of emergency declaration by Governor Whitmer for eight counties. Heavy rainfall from isolated severe thunderstorms can trigger damaging flash floods as well, such as an event on May 12, 2022, that resulted in a state of emergency declaration for western Marquette County.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk extends across multiple zones. Properties in high-risk Zone A have logged 7 claims with an average payout of $23,657 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Meanwhile, moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties have also logged 7 claims with an average payout of $22,308 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, alongside claims in unknown zones and unshaded Zone X designations. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located near rivers and lakeshores, as well as those in designated Special Flood Hazard Areas, though the claim history in Zone X shows that properties outside standard high-risk zones also experience damaging water depths.
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 1 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 2002, with 4 claims and $32,718 paid, the year of 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Marquette County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2002 |
| Mi - Tower Lake Mountain Fire - 05/06/1999 | May 5, 1999 |
| Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99 | Jan 2, 1999 |
| 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.
42 since 1996: 17 flash floods, 19 river or area floods and 6 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 25, 2025 | $33,500 |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2023 | $7.0M |
| Flood | May 4, 2023 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2022 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Apr 25, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 12, 2022 | $3.0M |
| Flash Flood | Sep 30, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 25, 2025. Snowmelt flooding caused damage to infrastructure in Marquette County on the 25th.
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.
Flood · May 4, 2023. The historic late season snowstorm of May 1-2 dumped three to more than four inches of liquid water equivalent precipitation over the higher terrain of Baraga, Marquette and western Alger counties. This significant precipitation event led to a second round of spring snowmelt flooding over portions of west and north central portions of Upper Michigan into early May.
Flood · Apr 27, 2022. Snowmelt combined with periods of heavy rain resulted in a culvert washing out northeast of Republic on the 27th.
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 Marquette 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.