Natural hazards · Gaylord

Gaylord, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gaylord comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gaylord?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gaylord to be higher than in 0% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding31%Cold waves30%Hail12%Tornadoes9%Strong wind8%Lightning8%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Gaylord faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 28 years in the area

Cold waves

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lightning

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslides

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 Gaylord flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Gaylord.

Disasters that hit Gaylord

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GaylordDeclared for Otsego County only

2025

Severe Winter Storm

$401K to the City of Gaylord for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$4K to the City of Gaylord for repairs

Otsego County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and ice storms.

Around Gaylord

Gaylord and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bagleymostly inland floodingVery low

Livingstonmostly inland floodingVery low

Gaylordmostly 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. Gaylord covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Gaylord’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gaylord. 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 Gaylord total about $1.3M 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.