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Natural hazards · Blue Island

Blue Island, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Blue Island comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Blue Island?

86
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Blue Island to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding58%Cold waves21%Tornadoes12%Heat waves6%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Blue Island faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Blue Island flood?

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

2paid claims since 1979
$19Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19792026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Blue Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cook County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

22flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Blue Island

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Blue IslandDeclared for Cook County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng

378 households applied for aid $966K aid approved
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

689 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

352 households applied for aid $442K aid approved
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$40K to the City of Blue Island for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

432 households applied for aid $603K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

276 households applied for aid $213K aid approved
2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$27K to the City of Blue Island for repairs
1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$28K to the City of Blue Island for repairs
Cook County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Blue Island

Blue Island and the towns around it

Calumet Park: Very high, mostly inland floodingAlsip: High, mostly inland floodingRiverdale: Very high, mostly inland floodingRobbins: High, mostly inland floodingCalumet: Very high, mostly inland floodingDixmoor: Very high, mostly inland floodingChicago: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPosen: Very high, mostly inland floodingOak Lawn: Very high, mostly inland floodingCrestwood: High, mostly inland floodingWorth: Very high, mostly inland floodingThornton: Very high, mostly inland floodingDolton: Very high, mostly inland floodingMidlothian: High, mostly inland floodingHarvey: Very high, mostly inland floodingBremen: High, mostly inland floodingLeyden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMaine: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRosemont: Low, mostly inland floodingSchiller Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStickney: High, mostly inland floodingPark Ridge: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElk Grove: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Low, mostly inland floodingDes Plaines: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMarkham: High, mostly inland floodingBlue Island: Very high, mostly inland flooding Blue IslandCalumet ParkAlsipRiverdaleRobbinsCalumetDixmoorChicagoPosen
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Posenmostly inland floodingVery high
Calumetmostly inland floodingVery high
Blue Islandmostly inland floodingVery high
Dixmoormostly inland floodingVery high
Riverdalemostly inland floodingVery high
Calumet Parkmostly inland floodingVery high
Robbinsmostly inland floodingHigh
Alsipmostly inland floodingHigh
Chicagomostly inland floodingModerate
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. Blue Island covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Blue Island’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Blue Island. 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 Blue Island total about $9.7M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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