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Natural hazards · Pontiac

Pontiac, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pontiac comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Pontiac?

15
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pontiac to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding43%Tornadoes28%Cold waves18%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Pontiac faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

28% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Cold waves

18% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Pontiac flood?

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

3paid claims since 1978
$8Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19782026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Pontiac isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Oakland County.
Disasters that hit Pontiac

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PontiacDeclared for Oakland County only
2023

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2,400 households applied for aid $4.4M aid approved
2021

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

232 households applied for aid $93K aid approved
2014

Severe Storms and Flooding

176 households applied for aid $90K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

809 households applied for aid $512K aid approved
2000

Snow

$51K to the City of Pontiac for repairs
1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$55K to the City of Pontiac for repairs
Oakland County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Pontiac

Pontiac and the towns around it

Auburn Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingBloomfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingWaterford: Very low, mostly inland floodingLake Angelus: Very low, mostly inland floodingSylvan Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingOrion: Very low, mostly inland floodingRochester Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingIndependence: Very low, mostly inland floodingBirmingham: Low, mostly inland floodingBloomfield Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingWest Bloomfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouthfield: Low, mostly inland floodingFranklin: Very low, mostly inland floodingTroy: Very low, mostly inland floodingBeverly Hills: Low, mostly inland floodingFarmington Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingWhite Lake: Very low, mostly inland floodingPontiac: Very low, mostly inland flooding PontiacAuburn HillsBloomfieldWaterfordLake AngelusSylvan Lake
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Sylvan Lakemostly inland floodingLow
Auburn Hillsmostly inland floodingVery low
Waterfordmostly inland floodingVery low
Bloomfieldmostly inland floodingVery low
Pontiacmostly inland floodingVery low
Lake Angelusmostly 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. Pontiac covers 18 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pontiac’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Pontiac. 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 Pontiac total about $14.6M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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