Natural hazards · Afton

Afton, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Afton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Afton?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Afton to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding45%Cold waves25%Tornadoes18%Earthquakes5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Afton faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

25% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 83 years in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Afton flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Afton, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 1979

$4Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. 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: DeKalb County.

Disasters that hit Afton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Afton itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of Afton.

Brought FEMA money into AftonDeclared for DeKalb County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$9K to the Township of Afton for repairs

DeKalb County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Afton

Afton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Piercemostly inland floodingModerate

DeKalbmostly inland floodingLow

Clintonmostly inland floodingVery low

Milanmostly inland floodingVery low

Shabbonamostly inland floodingVery low

Aftonmostly inland floodingVery low

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Afton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Afton’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Afton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Afton total about $1.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.