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Natural hazards · White Lake

White Lake, MI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in White Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1993. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is White Lake?

16
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes32%Cold waves17%Everything else10%
By hazard

What White Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

32% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Cold waves

17% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 White Lake flood?

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

6paid claims since 1993
$25Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19932026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. White Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Oakland County.
Disasters that hit White Lake

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into White LakeDeclared for Oakland County only
2023

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

44 households applied for aid $168K aid approved
2021

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

31 households applied for aid $3K aid approved
2014

Severe Storms and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $3K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $9K aid approved
Oakland County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around White Lake

White Lake and the towns around it

Springfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingCommerce: Very low, mostly inland floodingWaterford: Very low, mostly inland floodingHighland: Very low, mostly inland floodingIndependence: Very low, mostly inland floodingGroveland: Very low, mostly inland floodingRose: Very low, mostly inland floodingWalled Lake: Very low, mostly tornadoesWest Bloomfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingWixom: Very low, mostly tornadoesWolverine Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingMilford: Low, mostly inland floodingLake Angelus: Very low, mostly inland floodingPontiac: Very low, mostly inland floodingAuburn Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingOrion: Very low, mostly inland floodingSylvan Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingHartland: Very low, mostly inland floodingWhite Lake: Very low, mostly inland flooding White LakeSpringfieldCommerceWaterfordHighland
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Waterfordmostly inland floodingVery low
Highlandmostly inland floodingVery low
Commercemostly inland floodingVery low
White Lakemostly inland floodingVery low
Springfieldmostly 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. White Lake covers 9 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to White Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of White Lake. 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 White Lake total about $8.2M 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.

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You’re in White Lake, MIOakland CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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