Natural hazards · Lebanon

Lebanon, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lebanon comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2013. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lebanon?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lebanon to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes33%Inland flooding30%Heat waves11%Cold waves11%Tornadoes9%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Lebanon faces

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

Earthquakes

33% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 35 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Lebanon flood?

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

3paid claims since 2013

$87Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20132026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $38K
Early winter storms: 1 claim, $16K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: St. Clair County.

Disasters that hit Lebanon

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LebanonDeclared for St. Clair County only

2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng

20 households applied for aid $51K aid approved

2022

Severe Storm and Flooding

27 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

St. Clair County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Lebanon

Lebanon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Mascoutahmostly inland floodingHigh

Sugar Creekmostly inland floodingHigh

St. Jacobmostly inland floodingHigh

Lebanonmostly earthquakesHigh

O'Fallonmostly 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. Lebanon covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lebanon’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Lebanon. 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 Lebanon total about $4.3M 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.