Natural hazards · Athens

Athens, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Athens comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Athens?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Athens to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding34%Tornadoes15%Cold waves12%Drought10%Strong wind10%Earthquakes8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Athens faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Athens flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Athens.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Menard County.

Disasters that hit Athens

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AthensDeclared for Menard County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the City of Athens for repairs

2006

Snow

$3K to the City of Athens for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$3K to the City of Athens for repairs

2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$4K to the City of Athens for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$8K to the City of Athens for repairs

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

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. Athens 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 Athens’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Athens. 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.