Natural hazards · Ashland

Ashland, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ashland comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2002. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ashland?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ashland to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves39%Inland flooding18%Drought18%Strong wind9%Heat waves6%Tornadoes6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Ashland faces

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

Cold waves

39% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Ashland flood?

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

4paid claims since 2002

$40Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

20022026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ike: 1 claim, $13K
Early winter storms: 1 claim, $2K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ashland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cass County.

Disasters that hit Ashland

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AshlandDeclared for Cass County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Village of Ashland for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$38K to the Village of Ashland for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$40K to the Village of Ashland for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$3K to the Village of Ashland for repairs

Cass County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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. Ashland is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.