Natural hazards · Detroit

Detroit, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Detroit comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Detroit?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Detroit to be higher than in 10% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding53%Tornadoes16%Cold waves11%Wildfire5%Strong wind5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Detroit faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 13% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 34 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Detroit flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Becker County.

Disasters that hit Detroit

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DetroitDeclared for Becker County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$10K to the Township of Detroit for repairs

Becker County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Detroit

Detroit and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lake Viewmostly inland floodingLow

Eriemostly inland floodingLow

Audubonmostly inland floodingVery low

Detroitmostly inland floodingVery low

Richwoodmostly inland floodingVery low

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