Natural hazards · Saginaw

Saginaw, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Saginaw comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 94 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Saginaw?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Saginaw to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding58%Cold waves16%Tornadoes13%Strong wind5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Saginaw faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 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 Saginaw flood?

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

94paid claims since 1978

$1.3Mpaid to owners

8homes flooded more than once

19782026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (5) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Saginaw County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone homes bought out and moved

1buildings floodproofed

Disasters that hit Saginaw

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SaginawDeclared for Saginaw County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

7,681 households applied for aid $32.1M aid approved

2020

Severe Storms and Flooding

1,664 households applied for aid $5.1M aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

514 households applied for aid $165K aid approved

Saginaw County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Saginaw

Saginaw and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Jamesmostly inland floodingVery high

Carrolltonmostly inland floodingHigh

Spauldingmostly inland floodingHigh

Saginawmostly inland floodingModerate

Bridgeportmostly inland floodingModerate

Buena Vistamostly 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. Saginaw covers 19 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Saginaw’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Saginaw. 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 Saginaw total about $15.5M 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.