Natural hazards · German Valley

German Valley, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in German Valley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 German Valley?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in German Valley to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes15%Hail9%Cold waves8%Drought8%Strong wind6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What German Valley 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

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 German Valley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Stephenson County.

Disasters that hit German Valley

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into German ValleyDeclared for Stephenson County only

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

22 households applied for aid $51K aid approved

Stephenson County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter 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. German Valley 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 German Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of German Valley. 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.