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Natural hazards · Houghton

Houghton, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Houghton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Houghton?

16
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Houghton to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding66%Cold waves24%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Houghton faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

HurricanesEarthquakesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Houghton flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Houghton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Houghton County.
Disasters that hit Houghton

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HoughtonDeclared for Houghton County only
2018

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$1.5M to the City of Houghton for repairs
2013

Flooding

$94K to the City of Houghton for repairs
2002

Flooding

$18K to the City of Houghton for repairs
Houghton County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.
Around Houghton

Houghton and the towns around it

Portage: Very low, mostly inland floodingStanton: Low, mostly inland floodingAdams: Low, mostly inland floodingFranklin: Low, mostly inland floodingChassell: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHancock: Very low, mostly inland floodingTorch Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingBaraga: Low, mostly cold wavesLaird: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElm River: Low, mostly inland floodingHancock: Low, mostly inland floodingBohemia: Low, mostly inland floodingOsceola: Very low, mostly inland floodingQuincy: Low, mostly inland floodingHoughton: Very low, mostly inland flooding HoughtonPortageStantonAdamsFranklin
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Franklinmostly inland floodingLow
Stantonmostly inland floodingLow
Adamsmostly inland floodingLow
Houghtonmostly inland floodingVery low
Portagemostly 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. Houghton 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 Houghton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Houghton. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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