Photo: Nyttend · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Carroll Township faces more hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carroll Township gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (81%). Flood insurance has paid 360 claims here since 1978.
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 stands out about Carroll Township’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Carroll 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
Tornadoes
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 Carroll Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 81% of the building damage FEMA expects in Carroll Township, and Carroll Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Carroll Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Carroll Township: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Carroll Township flood? Yes: 360 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Carroll Township, from FEMA’s records: 236.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Carroll 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: Ottawa County.The storms Carroll Township remembers
None of the 10 disasters declared for Ottawa County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Carroll Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 1998118 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes, declared for Ottawa County
- 1982113 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 198035 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Ottawa County has had 10 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.
Old photos of Carroll Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Carroll Township archive →Carroll Township and its neighbors
Carroll Township is 2nd 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem Township | Bless damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Carroll Township | Cmore damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 360 |
| Benton Township | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Salem Township | Dmore damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Erie Township | Dmore damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Put-in-Bay Township | — | 727 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 Carroll 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.
- 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.
- 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 Carroll Township
Is Carroll Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carroll Township has higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (81%) and tornadoes (9%). 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.
Does Carroll Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 360 claims in Carroll Township since 1978, $3.2M in all, or 236.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Carroll 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 Ottawa County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Carroll Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Carroll Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Carroll Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (81%), and Carroll Township’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Carroll Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Carroll 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.