Natural hazards · Sturgis

Sturgis, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sturgis comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sturgis?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sturgis to be higher than in 6% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding43%Tornadoes14%Cold waves12%Strong wind11%Hail9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Sturgis 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

Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Sturgis flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: St. Joseph County.

Disasters that hit Sturgis

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SturgisDeclared for St. Joseph County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2000

Snow

$6K to the City of Sturgis for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$11K to the City of Sturgis for repairs

St. Joseph County has had 6 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Sturgis

Sturgis and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Fawn Rivermostly inland floodingLow

Burr Oakmostly inland floodingLow

Sturgismostly inland floodingLow

Shermanmostly inland floodingLow

Sturgismostly 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. Sturgis covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sturgis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sturgis. 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 Sturgis total about $2.6M 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.