1,184 flood insurance claims·$5.2M 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 St. Clair 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.
River flooding and lakeshore flooding dominate the flood risk profile in St. Clair County, based on 16 general flood events and 11 lakeshore flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database, alongside 3 flash flood events.
Realized flood impacts are documented in recent NOAA narratives. On February 17, 2022, the Black River near Jedo exceeded its banks and peaked just under 10.5 feet, leading to flooded roads. Earlier, on February 2, 2021, increasing ice cover on southern Lake Huron caused ice blockages along the St. Clair River, bringing river gauges at Algonac and the Saint Clair State Police close to all-time record levels.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties in designated high-risk areas bear the heaviest burden. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 675 claims, averaging a $7,189 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Shaded and unshaded Zone X areas also accumulated significant claims, with 298 claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging a $4,540 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and 74 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging a $6,788 payout and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners near rivers and lakeshore properties should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
36% of St. Clair County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,047 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 1986, with 319 claims and $675,987 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from St. Clair County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 3 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 And Flooding | Jun 21, 1996 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Icing & Flooding | Mar 19, 1976 |
| Severe Storms, High Winds & Flooding | Apr 26, 1975 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
30 since 1996: 3 flash floods, 16 river or area floods and 11 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 2, 2021 | $550,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | Mar 29, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Apr 26, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jun 23, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jul 19, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jan 18, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Nov 15, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 17, 2022. The Black river near Jedo in northern St. Clair county exceeded it banks on February 17th, which lead to some flooded roads. The river peaked just under 10 and half feet.
Flood · Feb 2, 2021. A very cold first half to February caused increasing ice cover over southern Lake Huron which lead to ice blockages along the St. Clair River. Bouts of significant flooding were observed, as the river gauges at Algonac and the Saint Clair State Police came very close to all time record levels. The peak river level at Algonac was 578.49 feet on February 2nd around 830 PM EST. The peak river level at Saint Clair was…
Lakeshore Flood · Mar 29, 2020. Strong low pressure tracked through the Great Lakes region producing 1 to 2.5 inches of rainfall across southeast Michigan. As this system exited northeast, strong southwest to west-southwest winds followed during the daytime hours of Sunday, with gusts of 40 to 60 mph observed. Detroit Metro even had a higher wind gust of 62 mph reported around 230 PM in the afternoon. More than 15,000 DTE customers lost power a…
Lakeshore Flood · Apr 26, 2020. Prolonged east-northeast winds of 15 to 20 mph over Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair lead to some lakeshore flooding, as water levels remain at record high values.
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 St. Clair 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.