Natural hazards · Watervliet

Watervliet, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Watervliet comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Watervliet?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Watervliet to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding59%Cold waves15%Tornadoes12%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Watervliet faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% 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 Watervliet flood?

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

8paid claims since 1979

$319Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19792026

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. Watervliet 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 Watervliet

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WatervlietDeclared for Berrien County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $925 aid approved

2000

Snow

$3K to the City of Watervliet for repairs

1999

Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99

$2K to the City of Watervliet for repairs

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

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. Watervliet is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Watervliet’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Watervliet. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.