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Natural hazards · West Branch

West Branch, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Branch comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

How exposed is West Branch?

16
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Branch to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding43%Hail21%Cold waves12%Strong wind10%Tornadoes7%Everything else7%
By hazard

What West Branch 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 16% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Hail

21% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 West Branch flood?

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

Disasters that hit West Branch

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Ogemaw County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching West Branch itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into West BranchDeclared for Ogemaw County only
Ogemaw County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.
Around West Branch

West Branch and the towns around it

West Branch: Very low, mostly inland floodingOgemaw: Low, mostly inland floodingHorton: Low, mostly inland floodingKlacking: Low, mostly inland floodingChurchill: Low, mostly inland floodingRichfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEdwards: Low, mostly inland floodingFoster: Low, mostly inland floodingWest Branch: Very low, mostly inland flooding West BranchWest BranchOgemaw
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Ogemawmostly inland floodingLow
West Branchmostly inland floodingVery low
West Branchmostly 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. West Branch 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 West Branch’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of West Branch. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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