Natural hazards · Lawton

Lawton, MI natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lawton to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding42%Tornadoes17%Hail15%Strong wind12%Cold waves7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Lawton faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Hail

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

12% 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 Lawton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Lawton 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 Lawton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LawtonDeclared for Van Buren County only

2000

Snow

$1K to the Village of Lawton for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$2K to the Village of Lawton 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. Lawton 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 Lawton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Lawton. 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.