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Natural hazards · Knoxville

Knoxville, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Knoxville 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 Knoxville?

36
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Knoxville to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and strong winds.

Inland flooding23%Strong wind20%Cold waves17%Tornadoes15%Heat waves10%Hail7%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Knoxville faces

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

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

20% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Heat waves

10% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Knoxville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Knoxville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Knox County.
Disasters that hit Knoxville

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KnoxvilleDeclared for Knox County only
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

48 households applied for aid $137K aid approved
Knox County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Knoxville

Knoxville and the towns around it

Knox: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGalesburg: High, mostly inland floodingGalesburg City: High, mostly inland floodingGalesburg: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPersifer: High, mostly inland floodingEast Galesburg: Moderate, mostly inland floodingOrange: High, mostly inland floodingSparta: High, mostly inland floodingCopley: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHenderson: High, mostly inland floodingKnoxville: Low, mostly inland flooding KnoxvilleKnoxGalesburgGalesburg City
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Galesburgmostly inland floodingHigh
Galesburg Citymostly inland floodingHigh
Knoxmostly inland floodingModerate
Knoxvillemostly inland floodingLow
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. Knoxville covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Knoxville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Knoxville. 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 Knoxville total about $1.1M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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