Natural hazards · Detroit

Detroit, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Detroit comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Detroit?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Detroit to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding35%Tornadoes18%Earthquakes12%Lightning11%Cold waves11%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Detroit faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Lightning

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Detroit flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Detroit.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Detroit isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Lamar County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Detroit

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Detroit itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Detroit.

Brought FEMA money into DetroitDeclared for Lamar County only

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $33K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1 household applied for aid

Lamar County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Detroit is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Detroit’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Detroit. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.