Natural hazards · Three Rivers

Three Rivers, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Three Rivers comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 58 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 Three Rivers?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Three Rivers to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding67%Tornadoes8%Cold waves8%Strong wind7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Three Rivers faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Three Rivers flood?

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

58paid claims since 1978

$1.2Mpaid to owners

8homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ike: 3 claims, $13K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (3) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Three Rivers 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 Three Rivers

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Three RiversDeclared for St. Joseph County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2000

Snow

$4K to the City of Three Rivers for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$10K to the City of Three Rivers for repairs

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

Around Three Rivers

Three Rivers and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Three Riversmostly inland floodingModerate

Lockportmostly inland floodingLow

Fabiusmostly 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. Three Rivers covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Three Rivers’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Three Rivers. 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 Three Rivers total about $1.3M 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.