Editorial
Most disaster-prone counties in Michigan
Michigan has 793 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 83 counties. The dominant hazard type is snowstorm. Macomb County leads with 18 declarations, followed by Saginaw County and Wayne County.
This ranking shows every county in Michigan ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.
Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.
Michigan ranking
All counties by FEMA declaration count
| # | County | Declarations | Top hazard | First year | Latest year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macomb County | 18 | Flood | 1972 | 2024 |
| 2 | Saginaw County | 17 | Severe Storm | 1973 | 2020 |
| 3 | Wayne County | 17 | Severe Storm | 1972 | 2024 |
| 4 | Allegan County | 16 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 5 | Ionia County | 16 | Snowstorm | 1972 | 2024 |
| 6 | Ottawa County | 16 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 7 | Oakland County | 15 | Severe Storm | 1975 | 2024 |
| 8 | Bay County | 14 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 9 | Genesee County | 14 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 10 | Midland County | 14 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 11 | Shiawassee County | 14 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 12 | Barry County | 13 | Snowstorm | 1965 | 2020 |
| 13 | Eaton County | 13 | Snowstorm | 1965 | 2024 |
| 14 | Kent County | 13 | Flood | 1965 | 2024 |
| 15 | Muskegon County | 13 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 16 | Osceola County | 13 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 17 | Van Buren County | 13 | Flood | 1973 | 2020 |
| 18 | Berrien County | 12 | Flood | 1972 | 2020 |
| 19 | Gladwin County | 12 | Severe Storm | 1976 | 2020 |
| 20 | Ingham County | 12 | Flood | 1972 | 2024 |
| 21 | Mecosta County | 12 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 22 | Newaygo County | 12 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 23 | Oceana County | 12 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 24 | Sanilac County | 12 | Flood | 1973 | 2020 |
| 25 | St. Clair County | 12 | Flood | 1972 | 2020 |
| 26 | Arenac County | 11 | Flood | 1972 | 2020 |
| 27 | Gratiot County | 11 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 28 | Isabella County | 11 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 29 | Kalamazoo County | 11 | Snowstorm | 1965 | 2020 |
| 30 | Lapeer County | 11 | Flood | 1975 | 2020 |
| 31 | Monroe County | 11 | Flood | 1965 | 2024 |
| 32 | Montcalm County | 11 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 33 | Tuscola County | 11 | Flood | 1972 | 2020 |
| 34 | Washtenaw County | 11 | Snowstorm | 1965 | 2021 |
| 35 | Clinton County | 10 | Snowstorm | 1965 | 2020 |
| 36 | Iosco County | 10 | Flood | 1972 | 2020 |
| 37 | Jackson County | 10 | Snowstorm | 1972 | 2020 |
| 38 | Marquette County | 10 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 39 | Calhoun County | 9 | Snowstorm | 1972 | 2020 |
| 40 | Cass County | 9 | Snowstorm | 1977 | 2020 |
| 41 | Clare County | 9 | Biological | 1975 | 2020 |
| 42 | Gogebic County | 9 | Flood | 1977 | 2020 |
| 43 | Hillsdale County | 9 | Snowstorm | 1965 | 2020 |
| 44 | Houghton County | 9 | Flood | 1977 | 2020 |
| 45 | Livingston County | 9 | Biological | 1975 | 2024 |
| 46 | Mason County | 9 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 47 | Alcona County | 8 | Severe Ice Storm | 1977 | 2025 |
| 48 | Crawford County | 8 | Severe Ice Storm | 1975 | 2025 |
| 49 | Huron County | 8 | Flood | 1973 | 2020 |
| 50 | Lake County | 8 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 51 | Ontonagon County | 8 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 52 | St. Joseph County | 8 | Snowstorm | 1978 | 2020 |
| 53 | Baraga County | 7 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 54 | Charlevoix County | 7 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 55 | Cheboygan County | 7 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 56 | Chippewa County | 7 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 57 | Mackinac County | 7 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 58 | Manistee County | 7 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 59 | Menominee County | 7 | Biological | 1973 | 2020 |
| 60 | Montmorency County | 7 | Severe Ice Storm | 1977 | 2025 |
| 61 | Oscoda County | 7 | Severe Ice Storm | 1977 | 2025 |
| 62 | Otsego County | 7 | Severe Ice Storm | 1977 | 2025 |
| 63 | Alpena County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 64 | Antrim County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 65 | Branch County | 6 | Biological | 1965 | 2020 |
| 66 | Delta County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 67 | Emmet County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 68 | Iron County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 69 | Kalkaska County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 70 | Lenawee County | 6 | Biological | 1965 | 2020 |
| 71 | Missaukee County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 72 | Ogemaw County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 73 | Presque Isle County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2025 |
| 74 | Roscommon County | 6 | Biological | 1976 | 2020 |
| 75 | Schoolcraft County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 76 | Wexford County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 77 | Alger County | 5 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 78 | Benzie County | 5 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 79 | Dickinson County | 5 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 80 | Grand Traverse County | 5 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 81 | Keweenaw County | 5 | Biological | 1978 | 2020 |
| 82 | Leelanau County | 5 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 83 | Luce County | 5 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |