Natural hazards · Sodus

Sodus, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sodus comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sodus?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sodus to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Cold waves12%Tornadoes9%Strong wind5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Sodus faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Sodus flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Berrien County.

Disasters that hit Sodus

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SodusDeclared for Berrien County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Berrien County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Sodus

Sodus and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sodusmostly inland floodingLow

Royaltonmostly inland floodingLow

Oronokomostly inland floodingLow

Pipestonemostly inland floodingLow

Bentonmostly 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. Sodus covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sodus’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Sodus. 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 Sodus total about $811K 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.