Natural hazards · Buchanan

Buchanan, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Buchanan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1996. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Buchanan?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Buchanan to be higher than in 26% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding60%Cold waves14%Tornadoes10%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Buchanan faces

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

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 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 Buchanan flood?

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

1paid claims since 1996

$144paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Buchanan 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 Buchanan

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BuchananDeclared for Berrien County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

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

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. Buchanan covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Buchanan total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.