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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hiawatha Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Hiawatha Township faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hiawatha Township gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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

more than 50%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Hiawatha 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

95%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hail Tornadoes Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Coastal flooding Earthquakes Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 11% of Hiawatha Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Hiawatha Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hiawatha Township, and Hiawatha Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Hiawatha Township sits
Hiawatha Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Hiawatha Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $566K a year in losses across Hiawatha Township: $459K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Hiawatha Township covers 3 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Hiawatha Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hiawatha Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Hiawatha 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: Schoolcraft County.
Disasters

The storms Hiawatha Township remembers

None of the 3 disasters declared for Schoolcraft County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hiawatha Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Hiawatha TownshipSchoolcraft County only

Schoolcraft County has had 3 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

Hiawatha Township and its neighbors

Hiawatha Township is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Munising TownshipA−less damage than 83%river and rain flooding—
Manistique TownshipBless damage than 59%river and rain flooding—
Hiawatha TownshipB−more damage than 50%river and rain flooding0
ManistiqueB−more damage than 51%river and rain flooding—
Thompson Township—891 residents; we grade 1,000+
Inwood Township—639 residents; we grade 1,000+
Seney Township—150 residents; we grade 1,000+
Burt Township—296 residents; we grade 1,000+

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Hiawatha 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.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Hiawatha Township

Is Hiawatha Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hiawatha Township has higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Hiawatha 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 Schoolcraft County, 0.0% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Hiawatha Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hiawatha Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Hiawatha Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Hiawatha Township’s rate for it is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hiawatha Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hiawatha 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.