Natural hazards · Pellston

Pellston, MI natural hazards

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

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pellston to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding69%Cold waves26%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Pellston faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Pellston flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Emmet County.

Disasters that hit Pellston

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PellstonDeclared for Emmet County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $202K aid approved

2025

Severe Winter Storm

$133K to the Village of Pellston for repairs

Emmet County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and ice 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. Pellston 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 Pellston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Pellston. 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.