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Natural hazards in Silver Creek · FEMA

Silver Creek is calmer than 81% of U.S. communities

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Silver Creek comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2015.

19Very low riskLowerHigherExpected storm and flood damage, vs. U.S. communities
Overall risk
Very low
higher than 19% of U.S. places
Main hazard
Inland flooding
59% of expected damage
Flood claims
4
paid since 2015 · $64K
Disasters paid out here
0
of 7 declared for Cass County
Expected yearly loss
$1.4M
buildings, people and crops

What stands out about Silver Creek’s weather risks

Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Expected damage

How exposed is Silver Creek?

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 19% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Where Silver Creek sits
Silver Creek
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Calmer than 1,175 of the 1,771 Michigan towns we cover.

Silver Creek covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

What drives the damage
Inland flooding59%Tornadoes13%Cold waves11%Strong wind9%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Silver Creek faces

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

Inland flooding

59%of expected damage
Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

13%of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Cold waves

11%of expected damage
Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9%of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Lower here
🌀 Hurricanes🧊 Hail🧊 Ice storms❄️ Winter weather🌡️ Heat waves🔥 Wildfire🏚️ Earthquakes⛰️ Landslides⚡ Lightning
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 Silver Creek flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2015

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

Paid flood claims, by year
2015: 1 claim2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 2 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims 201520232024
20152026
4
paid claims since 2015
$64K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$16K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Silver Creek isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cass County.
Storms remembered

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Cass County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Silver Creek itself in FEMA’s records.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Silver CreekCass County only

Cass County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Be ready

Get ready for what Silver Creek actually faces

A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Cold snaps
  • Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
  • Know where your water shutoff is.
  • Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Next door

Silver Creek and its neighbors

Silver Creek ranks 3rd calmest of 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
TownRatingMostlyFlood claims
KeelerLowinland flooding0
PipestoneLowinland flooding0
Silver CreekVery lowinland flooding4
DowagiacVery lowinland flooding0
PokagonVery lowinland flooding0

Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

How to read this page

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

  • An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
  • Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Silver Creek’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Silver Creek.
  • It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Silver Creek, expected losses total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Silver Creek.

Town Square →
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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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.

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