FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Higgins Township than in 61% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Higgins Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). 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 Higgins 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
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 Higgins Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Higgins Township, and Higgins Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 4%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Higgins Township’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $939K a year in losses across Higgins Township: $758K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Higgins Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Higgins Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Higgins 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: Roscommon County.The storms Higgins Township remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Roscommon County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Higgins Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Roscommon County has had 4 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.
Higgins Township and its neighbors
Higgins Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higgins Township | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Richfield Township | C+more damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Gerrish Township | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Markey Township | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| South Branch Township | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Backus Township | — | 378 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Au Sable Township | — | 209 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.
Get ready for what Higgins 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.
- 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 Higgins Township
Is Higgins Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Higgins Township has lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Higgins 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 Roscommon 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 Higgins Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Higgins Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Higgins Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Higgins Township’s rate for it is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Higgins Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Higgins 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.