Photo: Fogonthedowns at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Grand Rapids Township than in 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grand Rapids Township gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). 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 Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Grand Rapids Township, and Grand Rapids Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Grand Rapids Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $812K a year in losses across Grand Rapids Township: $739K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Grand Rapids Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Grand Rapids Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Grand Rapids 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: Wood County.The storms Grand Rapids Township remembers
None of the 7 disasters declared for Wood County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Grand Rapids Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Wood County has had 7 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Grand Rapids Township and its neighbors
Grand Rapids 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weston Township | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Providence Township | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Washington Township | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 64 |
| Grand Rapids Township | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Grand Rapids | — | 802 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 Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids Township
Is Grand Rapids Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grand Rapids Township has higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and tornadoes (8%). 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 Grand Rapids 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 Wood County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Grand Rapids Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Grand Rapids Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Grand Rapids Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Grand Rapids Township’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Grand Rapids Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Grand Rapids 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.