Natural hazards · Bridgman

Bridgman, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bridgman comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1980. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bridgman?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bridgman to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding51%Cold waves17%Tornadoes13%Strong wind9%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Bridgman faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bridgman flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bridgman, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 1980

$6Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19802026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Berrien County.

Disasters that hit Bridgman

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BridgmanDeclared for Berrien County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2000

Snow

$4K to the City of Bridgman for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$4K to the City of Bridgman for repairs

Berrien County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Bridgman

Bridgman and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bridgmanmostly inland floodingVery low

Lakemostly inland floodingVery low

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. Bridgman 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 Bridgman’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bridgman. 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.