Mason County, Michigan: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Mason County, Michigan has a Very Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 25.3 out of 100, higher than about 25% of US counties, with winter storms, landslides and strong winds scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $6.5 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 7 federal disaster declarations that included Mason County since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-1777-MI (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, declared 14 July 2008). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 5 tornadoes touching Mason County from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 29,050 Buildings worth $8.8 billion Area 1,255 sq mi Risk rank in Michigan 62 of 83 FIPS 26105
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 94.1 | $459,353 | about 29 a year | 224 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 60.1 | $2,099 | about once every 7.5 years | — |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 58.7 | $540,084 | about 1.1 a year | 18 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 44.8 | $4.4 million | about once every 2.5 years | 11 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 42.0 | $539,997 | about once every 1.1 years | 7 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 41.5 | $22,216 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Heat wave | Very Low | 34.3 | $131,255 | about 1.5 a year | 11 |
| Coastal flooding | Very Low | 32.8 | $5,191 | about once every 70 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 31.7 | $88,786 | about 29 a year | 50,410 strikes |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 28.4 | $22,229 | about once every 2.9 years | 10 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 25.2 | $283,053 | about once every 6.6 years | 2 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 23.4 | $29,025 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Hail | Very Low | 20.9 | $58,074 | about once every 1.3 years | 30 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 15.8 | $3,127 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Drought | No Rating | 0.0 | — | — | 0 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Insufficient Data | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 7
Most common: Severe Storm 2, Flood 2, Hurricane 1, Snowstorm 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | Snowstorm, Drought |
| 1980s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1990s | 1 | Severe Storm |
| 2000s | 2 | Severe Storm, Hurricane |
The last 7
Widest declarations that included Mason County
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (2005, EM-3225-MI): 83 Michigan counties designated.
- Blizzards & Snowstorms (1978, EM-3057-MI): 83 Michigan counties designated.
- Drought (1977, EM-3035-MI): 44 Michigan counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Michigan also had 3 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 5
| Tornadoes touching the county | 5 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×1 |
| Peak month | April (3) |
| Deadliest | 12 Apr 1972, F2, 0.1 mi path, 0 killed, 8 injured |
| Longest path | 12 Jun 2008, EF1, 1.3 mi path |
| Most recent | 12 Jun 2008, EF1, 1.3 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 8 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Mason County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason County (this page) | — | Very Low | 25.3 | Winter weather |
| Lake County | 36 km | Very Low | 22.0 | Winter weather |
| Oceana County | 39 km | Very Low | 33.7 | Strong wind |
| Manistee County | 41 km | Very Low | 37.2 | Winter weather |
| Newaygo County | 61 km | Relatively Low | 47.1 | Winter weather |
| Wexford County | 66 km | Very Low | 33.9 | Winter weather |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Michigan, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 79.7 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 96.1 |
| Community risk factor | 1.36 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $6.5 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Mason County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Michigan · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Winter weather: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Strong wind: Power outages now
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Mason County
What natural disasters is Mason County, Michigan most at risk from?
Mason County, Michigan has a Very Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 25.3 out of 100, higher than about 25% of US counties, with winter storms, landslides and strong winds scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $6.5 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Mason County had?
OpenFEMA lists 7 federal disaster declarations that included Mason County since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-1777-MI (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, declared 14 July 2008). Another 3 Michigan declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Mason County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 5 tornadoes touching Mason County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 12 Apr 1972, F2, 0.1 mi path, 0 killed, 8 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.