Natural hazards · Ludington

Ludington, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ludington comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ludington?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ludington to be higher than in 2% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding62%Cold waves10%Strong wind9%Winter weather9%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Ludington faces

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

Inland flooding

62% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Winter weather

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 29 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Ludington flood?

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

1paid claims since 2019

$49Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20192026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mason County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Ludington

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LudingtonDeclared for Mason County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$47K to the City of Ludington for repairs

Mason County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Ludington

Ludington and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Pere Marquettemostly inland floodingVery low

Ludingtonmostly 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. Ludington covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ludington’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ludington. 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 Ludington total about $1.4M 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.