Natural hazards · Grafton

Grafton, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Grafton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 649 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 Grafton?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Grafton to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding61%Heat waves13%Cold waves9%Tornadoes7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Grafton faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 21 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Grafton flood?

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

649paid claims since 1979

$8.9Mpaid to owners

45homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 104 claims, $2.7M
Early winter storms: 11 claims, $183K
Mid-spring storms: 7 claims, $276K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (23) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Grafton 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

102flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

2buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Grafton

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GraftonDeclared for Jersey County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$351K to the City of Grafton for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

39 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $89K to the City of Grafton for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$40K to the City of Grafton 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. Grafton 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 Grafton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Grafton. 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.

Grafton, IL natural hazards

How exposed is Grafton?

What Grafton faces

Inland flooding

Heat waves

Cold waves

Tornadoes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Grafton 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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