Natural hazards · Golden

Golden, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Golden comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Golden?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Golden to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding25%Drought18%Cold waves18%Heat waves13%Strong wind10%Tornadoes6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Golden faces

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

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Golden flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Adams County.

Disasters that hit Golden

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GoldenDeclared for Adams County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $50 aid approved

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$4K to the Village of Golden for repairs

Adams County has had 19 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. Golden 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 Golden’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Golden. 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.