Natural hazards · Carbondale

Carbondale, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Carbondale comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Carbondale?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Carbondale to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes50%Inland flooding20%Strong wind9%Cold waves9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Carbondale faces

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

Earthquakes

50% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Carbondale flood?

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

14paid claims since 1978

$1.5Mpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19782026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

51flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Carbondale

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CarbondaleDeclared for Jackson County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

130 households applied for aid $963K aid approved $28K to the City of Carbondale for repairs

2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$1.2M to the City of Carbondale for repairs

2004

Record/Near Record Snow

$23K to the City of Carbondale for repairs

Jackson County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Carbondale

Carbondale and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Murphysboromostly earthquakesVery high

Carbondalemostly earthquakesVery high

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. Carbondale covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Carbondale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Carbondale. 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 Carbondale total about $14.1M 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.