For strong wind, Arbela Township’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arbela Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns, #641 of 701 in Michigan. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Arbela Township 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
Strong wind
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.
What’s behind Arbela Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Arbela Township, and Arbela Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 9%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #641 of 701 in Michigan; higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Arbela Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Michigan town has lower expected damage than 77% of U.S. towns; within the state, Arbela Township has more expected damage per building than 91% of Michigan towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Arbela Township: $747K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Arbela Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Arbela Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Arbela Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tuscola County.The storms Arbela Township remembers
None of the 9 disasters declared for Tuscola County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Arbela Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Tuscola County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Arbela Township and its neighbors
Arbela Township is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thetford Township | B+less damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Birch Run Township | B+less damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Millington Township | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Arbela Township | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Tuscola Township | C−more damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Arbela Township 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Arbela Township
Is Arbela Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arbela Township has higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #641 of 701 in Michigan. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and strong wind (9%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Arbela Township 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 Tuscola County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Arbela Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Arbela Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Arbela Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Arbela Township’s rate for it is higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Arbela Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Arbela Township’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.