Wayne County, MI Environment & Hazard Risk

• Cold waveVery High$59.8M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.7 events a year
• Strong windVery High$12.7M/yr expected annual loss, about 5.1 events a year
• TornadoVery High$43.8M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 4 years
• Heat waveRelatively High$31.8M/yr expected annual loss, about 4.3 events a year
• Ice stormVery High$2.8M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.9 events a year
• LightningVery High$2.5M/yr expected annual loss, about 37 events a year
• Winter weatherRelatively High$491K/yr expected annual loss, about 10 events a year
• EarthquakeRelatively Moderate$9.9M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,050 years
• LandslideVery Low$1,821/yr expected annual loss, about once every 10 years
• HurricaneVery Low$120K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 91 years
• WildfireVery Low$46.2K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 51,584 years
• Coastal floodingRelatively Low$90.3K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 69 years
• HailRelatively Low$174K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.8 events a year

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, drought, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

3,357 of 650,804 (0.5%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

12,730

Insured in high-risk zones

2,741 (22%)

Flood claims since 1978

2,892

Claims paid since 1978

$13.7M

• Thunderstorm Wind455 · 8 deaths
• Hail175
• Flood60
• High Wind41
• Flash Flood35
• Heavy Snow32
• Lakeshore Flood22
• Lightning21 · 3 deaths
• Winter Storm18
• Heat16 · 2 deaths

• Flash Flood08/11/2014

  East Rockwood, Wayne County

  $1.1B damage

  What happened

  A historic rainfall event unfolded over Southeast Michigan on Monday, August 11, leading to major flooding and road closures. This event was caused by a strengthening low pressure system moving over the area, focusing the tropical moisture which came up from the south. The hardest hit areas included Metro Detroit and surrounding communities, along with Flint and the Saginaw Valley areas. Wayne, Southern Oakland and Macomb counties saw the worst of the flooding as 4 to 6 inches of rain fell over a 4 hour period. Around 75,000 homes and businesses suffered damage, with over 3000 suffering major damage. There was also damage to the roads and bridges, along with the city sewer pumps which were overwhelmed by the torrential rainfall. Total estimated dollar loss from the Detroit Metro area was 1.8 billion dollars. Farther north, across parts of Saginaw, Bay, and Genesee counties, flooding was not nearly as bad, but flooded roads with 2 to 3 feet of water were reported.

• Heat08/01/2006

  Wayne

  215 injured

  What happened

  This 2006 heat wave delivered the hottest weather the region had experienced in at least 4 years. A 5 day stretch of maximum temperatures at or above 90 degrees began on Saturday, July 29th. A blanket of especially high heat and oppressive humidity settled over the area on Monday, July 31st, and remained relentless through Wednesday, August 2nd. Temperatures soared above 90 by noon with heat indices over 100 degrees. Heat indices averaged between 105 and 110 degrees through the entire afternoon. Most significantly, Detroit Metro tied the all time record for the warmest minimum temperature, for any date, when it failed to record a temperature below 80 degrees on July 31st. This had happened only 3 other times in the previous 136 years of record keeping, and this was the first time in 64 years that it had happened again. Detroit topped out at 97 and set a new high temperature record for August 1st, tying the old record set in 1988. Little relief was felt during the evening with temperatures not dropping below 90 until 1900 EST. The major power companies in the area reported an all-time record customer demand for power from 1500 to 1600 EDT on the 1st, breaking the record that...

• TornadoF2, 5 mi path, 2,500 yd wide07/03/1997

  Highland Park, Wayne County

  90 injured, $90M damage

• Drought07/01/2001

  Wayne

  $150M damage

  What happened

  An upper level high pressure ridge dominated the weather pattern across southeast Michigan beginning late June and continuing through the month of July. This ridge prevented the development of widespread thunderstorms, and prevented rainfall from moving into the region from the west. While there was occasional isolated thunderstorms, much of the region suffered a pronounced dry spell. The lack of rainfall put a hardship on the area's water supply and measures were taken to curb usage. This included prohibiting outdoor watering in many communities in Macomb, Washtenaw, Genesee, Oakland, and Wayne counties. During the five week period ending July 28th, Detroit Metro Airport officially reported only 0.32 inches of rainfall. This became Detroits 11th driest month on record. With 1.59 inches, this was Flint's 10th driest month on record. In contrast to July, April through early June saw slightly above normal precipitation. This wet spring delayed planting of crops and resulted in shallower than normal rooting systems for crops already established. By mid summer, however, the upper air pattern changed and rainfall waned. In terms of timing, the drought impacted many summer crops...

• Flash Flood06/26/2021

  Northville, Wayne County

  $139M damage

  What happened

  Numerous roads and highways became impassable due to flooding. Four to eight inches of rainfall was reported in and around downtown Detroit, with Grosse Pointe Park reporting the highest total of 8.19 inches. Almost 15,000 homes suffered major flood damage, with close to 6000 homes experiencing minor flood damage across the northern part of county.

• Heat08/06/2001

  Wayne

  107 injured

  What happened

  A large high pressure ridge settled across the Great Lakes region during the first week of August. With this ridge in place, high temperatures soared well into the 90s across southeast Michigan. During this period, Flint broke 3 record highs, including a high of 98 on the 8th. Detroit also broke a record on the 8th when a high of 99 degrees was reached. In addition to the heat, humidity levels rose significantly during the time period. The high heat and humidity allowed daytime heat indices to exceed 100 degrees four days in a row. In fact, heat advisories were in effect for all of southeast Michigan for the afternoons and evenings of the 7th, 8th, and 9th. During this time period, heat indices ranged from 105 to 110 degrees.The heat caused several people to seek emergency care for heat stroke and heat exhaustion. One fatality also occurred due to the heat when an Oak Park man was found suffering from severe heat exhaustion while locked in his car. Several hours later, he was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The hot weather only aggravated the dry conditions already in place across southeast Lower Michigan (see July for more details). This led to tremendous worries among...

• Detroit City ofServes 633,218 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• DearbornServes 109,976 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Canton TownshipServes 99,627 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• LivoniaServes 96,942 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• WestlandServes 85,420 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+4 monitoring or reporting
• TaylorServes 63,409 · Purchased surface water · Local government1 health violation+8 monitoring or reporting
• Dearborn HeightsServes 57,774 · Purchased surface water · Local government1 health violation+14 monitoring or reporting
• Redford TownshipServes 49,504 · Purchased surface water · Local government1 health violation+3 monitoring or reporting