Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Alpena
Alpena isn’t graded for hazard risk: Alpena has 510 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Alpena faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Ice storms
Tornadoes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Alpena flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Alpena. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Alpena isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Carroll County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alpena
Disasters that paid out in Alpena itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Alpena), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$2K to the Town of Alpena for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding4 households applied for aid$6K aid approved$38K to the Town of Alpena for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$15K to the Town of Alpena for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding7 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$3K to the Town of Alpena for repairs
Carroll County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Alpena after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Alpena archive →Get ready for what Alpena faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Alpena
Is Alpena in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Carroll County, 1% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Alpena?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Alpena’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Alpena?
By FEMA money that reached Alpena, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding (2011): 4 households applied for aid, $6K approved, and $38K to the Town of Alpena for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alpena.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Alpena’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.