Natural hazards · Brussels

Brussels, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brussels comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1983. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Brussels?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brussels to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding47%Heat waves21%Cold waves9%Tornadoes8%Strong wind5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Brussels faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Brussels flood?

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

8paid claims since 1983

$49Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $23K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Calhoun County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

8flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Brussels

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrusselsDeclared for Calhoun County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$2K to the Village of Brussels for repairs

2001

Flooding

$14K to the Village of Brussels for repairs

Calhoun County has had 23 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. Brussels 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 Brussels’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Brussels. 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.