31 flood insurance claims·$221,388 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 Van Buren 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.
22% of Van Buren 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 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 2019, with 4 claims and $36,316 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Van Buren County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Michigan flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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 & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 8, 1980 |
| Severe Storms & Tornadoes | May 16, 1980 |
| Blizzards & Snowstorms | Jan 27, 1978 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
10 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 17, 2013 | $3.0M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2011 | $100,000 |
| Flood | May 21, 2004 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Feb 24, 2001 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2001 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 9, 2001 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2000 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 21, 1997 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Aug 13, 2011. Thunderstorm wind damage included downed trees and power lines across portions of Calhoun, Kent and Ottawa counties. The southern half of Newaygo county experienced significant flooding where campers in Henning Park just east northeast of the town of Newaygo were evacuated.
Flood · May 21, 2004. The biggest and longest duration flooding event in the past ten to twenty years occurred across southwestern and south central lower Michigan from May 20th through the third of June. Flooding in mid May resulted in very high river levels and the ground was saturated on the 20th. Numerous thunderstorm complexes and areas of heavy rainfall developed repeatedly in the vicinity of a quasi stationary frontal boundary…
Flood · Feb 24, 2001. Minor flooding began during the evening hours of the 24th and continued through the rest of February. Minor street flooding occurred in Muskegon (Muskegon county) and Allegan (Allegan county) late on the 24th as a result of locally heavy rainfall. However, the event was primarily a river flood event, and an urban and small stream flood advisory was issued at 9:45 p.m. the 24th. Several area rivers crested slightly…
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 Van Buren 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.