FEMA puts Tawas Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tawas Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 Tawas 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 Tawas Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Tawas Township, and Tawas Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts.
A− lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Tawas Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $616K a year in losses across Tawas Township: $448K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Tawas Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Tawas Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Tawas 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: Iosco County.The storms Tawas Township remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Iosco County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Tawas Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Iosco County has had 8 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.
Tawas Township and its neighbors
Tawas Township is 4th of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Township | A+less damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Baldwin Township | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Tawas City | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Tawas Township | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Alabaster Township | — | 371 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Wilber Township | — | 732 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Sand Lake | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Sherman Township | — | 399 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 Tawas 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 Tawas Township
Is Tawas Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tawas Township has lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Tawas 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 Iosco County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Tawas Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Tawas Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Tawas Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Tawas Township’s rate for it is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Tawas Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Tawas 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.