Natural hazards · Effingham

Effingham, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Effingham comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Effingham?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Effingham to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes35%Inland flooding33%Tornadoes13%Cold waves6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Effingham faces

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

Earthquakes

35% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 14% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 67 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Effingham flood?

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

1paid claims since 2019

$3Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20192026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Effingham County.

Disasters that hit Effingham

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EffinghamDeclared for Effingham County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$9K to the City of Effingham for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$19K to the City of Effingham for repairs

Effingham County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often tornadoes and winter storms.

Around Effingham

Effingham and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Teutopolismostly inland floodingModerate

Douglasmostly inland floodingModerate

Effinghammostly earthquakesLow

Summitmostly earthquakesLow

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