Photo: TheWhitePelican · CC BY 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Afton
Afton isn’t graded for hazard risk: Afton has 762 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2011.
What Afton 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
Ice storms
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.
Does Afton flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2011
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Afton, from FEMA’s records.
Afton 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.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Afton
Disasters that paid out in Afton itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Afton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms1 households applied for aid$7K to the Town of Afton for repairs
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding45 households applied for aid$15K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$840 aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding28 households applied for aid$109K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
Ottawa County has had 26 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.
Old photos of Afton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Afton archive →Get ready for what Afton 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Afton
Does Afton flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Afton since 2011, $103K in all.
Is Afton 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, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Afton?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Afton’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Afton?
By FEMA money that reached Afton, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2011): 28 households applied for aid, $109K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Afton.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Afton’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.