Natural hazards · Gillespie

Gillespie, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gillespie comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gillespie?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gillespie to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes27%Inland flooding25%Cold waves17%Heat waves11%Tornadoes8%Strong wind5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Gillespie faces

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

Earthquakes

27% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% 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 Gillespie flood?

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

5paid claims since 1982

$14Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ike: 1 claim, $307

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Macoupin County.

Disasters that hit Gillespie

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GillespieDeclared for Macoupin County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$46K to the City of Gillespie for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$57K to the City of Gillespie for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$2K to the City of Gillespie for repairs

Macoupin County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

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