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BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Rush Township · FEMA

For strong wind, Rush Township’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rush 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 (64%), then tornadoes (18%). 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

less than 61%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Rush 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

64%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

18%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts

Strong wind

14%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Ice storms Earthquakes Hurricanes Winter storms Lightning Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 25% of Rush 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 Rush Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rush Township, and Rush Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 18%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Rush Township sits
Rush Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Rush Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding64%Tornadoes18%Strong wind14%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $392K a year in losses across Rush Township: $201K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rush Township’s 1,268 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Middlebury township (1,529 residents) and Fairfield township (652 residents) and Henderson CDP (413 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Rush Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Rush 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: Shiawassee County.
Disasters

The storms Rush Township remembers

None of the 11 disasters declared for Shiawassee County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rush Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Rush TownshipShiawassee County only

Shiawassee County has had 11 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.

Next door

Rush Township and its neighbors

Rush 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
Owosso TownshipA−less damage than 76%river and rain flooding1
New Haven TownshipB+less damage than 67%river and rain flooding—
Rush TownshipBless damage than 61%river and rain flooding0
Brady TownshipBless damage than 59%river and rain flooding—
Fairfield Township—521 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 Rush 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 ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
High winds
  • Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
  • Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
  • Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
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 Rush Township

Is Rush Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rush 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 (64%) and tornadoes (18%). 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 Rush 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 Shiawassee County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Rush Township?

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

Is Rush Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Rush Township’s rate for it is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rush Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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