Brownlee Park’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brownlee Park comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community.
What stands out about Brownlee Park’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Brownlee Park flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Brownlee Park. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Brownlee Park isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Calhoun County.How exposed is Brownlee Park?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.
Rated higher than 1,301 of the 1,771 Michigan towns we cover.
Brownlee Park covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Brownlee Park faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Strong wind
Cold waves
Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Calhoun County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Brownlee Park itself in FEMA’s records.
Calhoun County has had 6 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.
Get ready for what Brownlee Park 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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.
Brownlee Park and its neighbors
Brownlee Park ranks 3rd calmest of 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennfield | Moderate | inland flooding | 6 |
| Brownlee Park | Low | inland flooding | 0 |
| Emmett | Low | inland flooding | 7 |
| Battle Creek | Low | inland flooding | 13 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
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 Brownlee Park’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Brownlee Park.
- 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. Across Brownlee Park, expected losses total about $344K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brownlee Park.
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.