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Natural hazards · Des Plaines

Des Plaines, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Des Plaines comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1,221 claims here since 1978. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Des Plaines?

59
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Des Plaines to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding50%Cold waves26%Tornadoes13%Heat waves7%Everything else4%
By hazard

What Des Plaines faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Heat waves

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Des Plaines flood?

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

1,221paid claims since 1978
$31.8Mpaid to owners
238homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Ike: 363 claims, $13.5M
  • Mid-spring storms: 295 claims, $11.0M

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 4 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (36) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
🏷️ 25% off flood insurance. Des Plaines is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 5) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Cook County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

154flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
59homes raised above flood level
1buildings floodproofed
Disasters that hit Des Plaines

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Des PlainesDeclared for Cook County only
2024

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

40 households applied for aid $22K aid approved
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

91 households applied for aid $150K aid approved
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

708 households applied for aid $1.4M aid approved
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$114K to the City of Des Plaines for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

125 households applied for aid $244K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

963 households applied for aid $2.6M aid approved $1.0M to the City of Des Plaines for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$950K to the City of Des Plaines for repairs
2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$40K to the City of Des Plaines for repairs
1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$74K to the City of Des Plaines for repairs
Cook County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Des Plaines

Des Plaines and the towns around it

Mount Prospect: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMaine: Moderate, mostly inland floodingChicago: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRosemont: Low, mostly inland floodingElk Grove: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPark Ridge: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGlenview: High, mostly inland floodingNorthfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLeyden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElk Grove Village: Very low, mostly inland floodingWheeling: Moderate, mostly inland floodingArlington Heights: Moderate, mostly inland floodingProspect Heights: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWorth: Very high, mostly inland floodingSchiller Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStickney: High, mostly inland floodingCalumet: Very high, mostly inland floodingNiles: Low, mostly inland floodingSchaumburg: Low, mostly inland floodingAddison: Low, mostly inland floodingItasca: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorwood Park: Low, mostly inland floodingNorthbrook: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWilmette: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNorthfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGolf: Very high, mostly inland floodingMorton Grove: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSkokie: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Trier: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMoraine: Low, mostly inland floodingGlencoe: Very low, mostly inland floodingWheeling: High, mostly inland floodingWest Deerfield: High, mostly inland floodingFranklin Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNorridge: Low, mostly cold wavesProviso: High, mostly inland floodingElmwood Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBensenville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSchaumburg: Low, mostly inland floodingWood Dale: Very low, mostly inland floodingRoselle: Very low, mostly inland floodingBloomingdale: Very low, mostly inland floodingPalatine: Low, mostly inland floodingVernon: Low, mostly inland floodingPalatine: Low, mostly inland floodingRolling Meadows: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDes Plaines: Moderate, mostly inland flooding Des PlainesMount ProspectMaineChicagoRosemontElk GrovePark RidgeGlenviewNorthfieldLeydenElk Grove VillageWheeling
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Glenviewmostly inland floodingHigh
Des Plainesmostly inland floodingModerate
Mount Prospectmostly inland floodingModerate
Leydenmostly inland floodingModerate
Wheelingmostly inland floodingModerate
Northfieldmostly inland floodingModerate
Mainemostly inland floodingModerate
Chicagomostly inland floodingModerate
Park Ridgemostly inland floodingModerate
Elk Grovemostly inland floodingModerate
Rosemontmostly inland floodingLow
Elk Grove Villagemostly inland floodingVery low
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. Des Plaines covers 17 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Des Plaines’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Des Plaines. 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 Des Plaines total about $38.9M 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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