Natural hazards · Elsah

Elsah, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elsah comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 54 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elsah?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elsah to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding39%Heat waves19%Cold waves14%Tornadoes10%Earthquakes7%Strong wind5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Elsah faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 25 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Elsah flood?

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

54paid claims since 1979

$970Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 9 claims, $411K
Early winter storms: 4 claims, $19K
Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $13K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jersey County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Elsah

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElsahDeclared for Jersey County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$17K to the Village of Elsah for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the Village of Elsah for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$17K to the Village of Elsah for repairs

Jersey County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe 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. Elsah 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 Elsah’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Elsah. 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.

Elsah, IL natural hazards

How exposed is Elsah?

What Elsah faces

Inland flooding

Heat waves

Cold waves

Tornadoes

Earthquakes

Strong wind

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Elsah flood?

Biggest named events

Homes that flooded again and again

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

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