Natural hazards · Kankakee

Kankakee, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kankakee comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 68 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kankakee?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kankakee to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding69%Cold waves16%Tornadoes7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Kankakee faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

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 Kankakee flood?

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

68paid claims since 1978

$563Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Early winter storms: 1 claim, $12K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kankakee County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

21flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Kankakee

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KankakeeDeclared for Kankakee County only

2004

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

43 households applied for aid $48K aid approved

Kankakee County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Kankakee

Kankakee and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Aromamostly inland floodingVery high

Kankakeemostly inland floodingVery high

Ottomostly inland floodingHigh

Limestonemostly inland floodingHigh

Bradleymostly inland floodingHigh

Bourbonnaismostly inland floodingModerate

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. Kankakee covers 9 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kankakee’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Kankakee. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Kankakee total about $15.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.