Natural hazards · Pentwater

Pentwater, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pentwater comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1986. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pentwater?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pentwater to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and strong winds.

Inland flooding55%Strong wind29%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Pentwater faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Strong wind

29% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Pentwater flood?

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

2paid claims since 1986

$18Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19862026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Oceana County.

Disasters that hit Pentwater

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PentwaterDeclared for Oceana County only

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$2K to the Village of Pentwater for repairs

Oceana County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Pentwater

Pentwater and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

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