Detroit Actually Ranked the Safest City in the U.S. in One Category

Detroit might not be the safest city in terms of crime, but it does have something going for it when it comes to weather.

According HomeownersInsurance.com, the Motor City tops the list of cities least likely to be severely impacted by a natural disaster, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina; San Francisco, California; Denver, Colorado; and Boston, Massachusetts in the top five.

While Detroit might have issues like bankruptcy and crime to battle with, natural disasters are not likely to impact the city compared to other areas of the country. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

"Detroit came out way ahead in all of our criteria, with only three major disaster declarations and four total declarations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the last 10 years," HomeownersInsurance.com wrote, noting that its close proximity to Lake Huron could be a contributing factor in that the large body of water helps regulate extreme weather patterns in the city.

The insurance company said hail and flooding were the most damaging weather events likely impact Detroit.

"Detroit residents may have several concerns, but natural disasters don’t top the list!" HomeownersInsurance.com said.

Criteria to come up with this list, included the number of weather events, cost of property damage and days with personal injury as listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's storm database over the last decade. It also took into account declarations made by the FEMA and average insurance premiums by state.

Check out the other cities that are safest in terms of natural disasters on HomeownersInsurance.com's full list. 

With natural disasters being one less thing for Detroit to worry about, it can focus on things like its bankruptcy plan, which as of late last month included resending bankruptcy voting ballots to thousands of retirees after there was an error in calculations to pension changes. After about 30,000 retirees and employees finish voting on the bankruptcy plan, it will be reviewed by a judge.

In May, the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity launched an effort to encourage Michiganders to rally against the plan that would provide $195 million in state money to help settle pension holders' claims.

(H/T: MLive)

--

The Associated Press contributed to this report.