Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge · Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cedar Springs
Cedar Springs isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Cedar Springs yet.
What Cedar Springs 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
Hurricanes
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 Cedar Springs flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cedar Springs. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cedar Springs isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Early County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Cedar Springs
Disasters that paid out in Cedar Springs itself (aid to households or repair grants to Cedar Springs), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Michael5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Early County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Cedar Springs after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cedar Springs archive →Get ready for what Cedar Springs 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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 Cedar Springs
Is Cedar Springs 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 Early County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cedar Springs?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cedar Springs’ 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 Cedar Springs?
By FEMA money that reached Cedar Springs, Hurricane Michael (2018): 5 households applied for aid, $3K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cedar Springs.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cedar Springs’ 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.