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Natural hazards · Rockford

Rockford, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rockford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Rockford?

29
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rockford to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding70%Tornadoes15%Strong wind5%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Rockford faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Rockford flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Rockford isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kent County.
Disasters that hit Rockford

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RockfordDeclared for Kent County only
2023

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

20 households applied for aid $8K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
2000

Snow

$3K to the City of Rockford for repairs
1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$5K to the City of Rockford for repairs
Kent County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Rockford

Rockford and the towns around it

Algoma: Low, mostly inland floodingCourtland: Low, mostly inland floodingCannon: Very low, mostly inland floodingPlainfield: Low, mostly inland floodingSparta: Low, mostly inland floodingSolon: Very low, mostly inland floodingOakfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingNelson: Very low, mostly inland floodingAda: Low, mostly inland floodingGrattan: Very low, mostly inland floodingAlpine: Very low, mostly inland floodingGrand Rapids: Very low, mostly inland floodingRockford: Low, mostly inland flooding RockfordAlgomaCourtlandCannonPlainfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Plainfieldmostly inland floodingLow
Algomamostly inland floodingLow
Rockfordmostly inland floodingLow
Courtlandmostly inland floodingLow
Cannonmostly 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. Rockford covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rockford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rockford. 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 Rockford total about $1.7M 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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