Natural hazards · Garfield

Garfield, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Garfield comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1999.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Garfield?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Garfield to be higher than in 1% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves56%Inland flooding28%Winter weather6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Garfield faces

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

Cold waves

56% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Winter weather

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 31 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Garfield flood?

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

7paid claims since 1999

$25Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19992026

Biggest named events

2026-04-Flooding: 1 claim, $3K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Grand Traverse County.

Disasters that hit Garfield

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Grand Traverse County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Garfield itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into GarfieldDeclared for Grand Traverse County only

Grand Traverse County has had 4 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

Around Garfield

Garfield and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Long Lakemostly cold wavesVery low

Blairmostly cold wavesVery low

East Baymostly cold wavesVery low

Garfieldmostly cold wavesVery low

Traverse Citymostly cold wavesVery 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. Garfield covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Garfield’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Garfield. 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 Garfield total about $4.9M 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.