Bloomingdale is calmer than 78% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bloomingdale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Bloomingdale’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Bloomingdale?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.
Calmer than 1,025 of the 1,771 Michigan towns we cover.
Bloomingdale is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Bloomingdale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bloomingdale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bloomingdale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Van Buren County.What Bloomingdale faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Hail
Strong wind
Cold waves
2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bloomingdale
Disasters that paid out in Bloomingdale itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Bloomingdale) and its biggest flood years.
- 2000Snow$2K to the Village of Bloomingdale for repairs
- 1999Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99$3K to the Village of Bloomingdale for repairs
Van Buren County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.
Old photos of Bloomingdale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bloomingdale archive →Get ready for what Bloomingdale actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–May
The month each of Van Buren County’s 11 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Bloomingdale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Bloomingdale.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bloomingdale.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.