Natural hazards · North Star

North Star, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North Star comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is North Star?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in North Star to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding53%Tornadoes16%Strong wind13%Cold waves11%Everything else8%

By hazard

What North Star faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 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 North Star flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gratiot County.

Disasters that hit North Star

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in North Star itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of North Star.

Brought FEMA money into North StarDeclared for Gratiot County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

Gratiot County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around North Star

North Star and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

North Starmostly inland floodingHigh

Washingtonmostly inland floodingHigh

Hamiltonmostly inland floodingHigh

Emersonmostly inland floodingModerate

Ithacamostly inland floodingLow

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. North Star 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 North Star’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of North Star. 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.