Natural hazards · Wheeler

Wheeler, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wheeler 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 Wheeler?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wheeler to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding49%Tornadoes18%Strong wind14%Cold waves12%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Wheeler faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 33 years in the area

Strong wind

14% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 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 Wheeler flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gratiot County.

Disasters that hit Wheeler

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WheelerDeclared for Gratiot County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved

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

Around Wheeler

Wheeler and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Portermostly inland floodingHigh

Bethanymostly inland floodingModerate

Wheelermostly inland floodingLow

Lafayettemostly 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. Wheeler 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 Wheeler’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Wheeler. 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.