Natural hazards · Merrill

Merrill, MI natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Merrill to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding52%Cold waves19%Tornadoes15%Strong wind6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Merrill faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 94 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Merrill flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Saginaw County.

Disasters that hit Merrill

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MerrillDeclared for Saginaw County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2000

Snow

$1K to the Village of Merrill for repairs

Saginaw County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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