Natural hazards · Cherry

Cherry, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cherry comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1982. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cherry?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cherry to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes19%Drought16%Cold waves7%Earthquakes6%Strong wind5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Cherry faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Cherry flood?

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

7paid claims since 1982

$19Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ike: 1 claim, $4K
Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $5K

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. Cherry isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Bureau County.

Disasters that hit Cherry

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CherryDeclared for Bureau County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$3K to the Village of Cherry for repairs

2006

Snow

$3K to the Village of Cherry for repairs

2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$1K to the Village of Cherry for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$2K to the Village of Cherry for repairs

Bureau County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter 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. Cherry 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 Cherry’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Cherry. 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.