Natural hazards · Hartford

Hartford, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hartford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Hartford?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hartford to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding48%Tornadoes15%Hail12%Strong wind11%Cold waves7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Hartford faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Hail

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 Hartford flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Van Buren County.

Disasters that hit Hartford

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HartfordDeclared for Van Buren County only

2000

Snow

$3K to the City of Hartford for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$4K to the City of Hartford for repairs

Van Buren County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.

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