Photo: Larry Pieniazek, Lar (commons) or User:Lar (wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0For strong wind, Croton Township’s building-damage rate is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Croton Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #588 of 701 in Michigan. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Croton 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
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 Croton Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Croton Township, and Croton Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 9%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B #588 of 701 in Michigan; lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Croton Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Michigan town has lower expected damage than 77% of U.S. towns; within the state, Croton Township has more expected damage per building than 84% of Michigan towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Croton Township: $839K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Croton Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Croton Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Croton 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: Newaygo County.The storms Croton Township remembers
None of the 10 disasters declared for Newaygo County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Croton Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Newaygo County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Croton Township and its neighbors
Croton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ensley Township | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Brooks Township | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 21 |
| Reynolds Township | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Croton Township | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Big Prairie Township | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
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 Croton 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.
- 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 Croton Township
Is Croton Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Croton Township has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #588 of 701 in Michigan. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and strong wind (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Croton 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 Newaygo County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Croton Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Croton Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Croton Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Croton Township’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Croton Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Croton 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.