FEMA puts Mentor Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mentor Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). 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 Mentor 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
Wildfire
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 Mentor Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mentor Township, and Mentor Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Mentor Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $558K a year in losses across Mentor Township: $354K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Mentor Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mentor Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
The storms Mentor Township remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Oscoda County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mentor Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Oscoda County has had 5 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Mentor Township and its neighbors
Mentor Township is 5th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comins Township | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Big Creek Township | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Curtis Township | A−less damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Rose Township | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Mentor Township | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Mitchell Township | — | 476 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Goodar Township | — | 385 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Mio | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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 Mentor 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Mentor Township
Is Mentor Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mentor Township has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and wildfire (6%). 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 Mentor 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.
How much is flood insurance in Mentor Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mentor Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Mentor Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Mentor Township’s rate for it is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mentor Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mentor 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.