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Natural hazards · Elwood

Elwood, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elwood comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Elwood?

39
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elwood to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding66%Tornadoes16%Cold waves13%Everything else6%
By hazard

What Elwood faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 44 years in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Elwood flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Elwood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Will County.
Disasters that hit Elwood

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElwoodDeclared for Will County only
2024

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

25 households applied for aid $27K aid approved
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $34K aid approved $37K to the Village of Elwood for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$13K to the Village of Elwood for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $22K aid approved
1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$4K to the Village of Elwood for repairs
Will County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Elwood

Elwood and the towns around it

Joliet: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRidgewood: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPreston Heights: Low, mostly inland floodingCrystal Lawns: High, mostly inland floodingIngalls Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPlainfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Lenox: Low, mostly inland floodingRockdale: Very low, mostly inland floodingCrest Hill: Very low, mostly inland floodingShorewood: High, mostly inland floodingSunnyland: Very low, mostly inland floodingChannahon: Low, mostly cold wavesElwood: Low, mostly inland flooding ElwoodJoliet
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Jolietmostly inland floodingModerate
Elwoodmostly inland floodingLow
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. Elwood 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 Elwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Elwood. 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.

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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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