Natural hazards · Cornell

Cornell, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cornell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cornell?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cornell to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding61%Cold waves15%Drought8%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Cornell faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Cornell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Livingston County.

Disasters that hit Cornell

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CornellDeclared for Livingston County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $37K aid approved

Livingston County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.

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