Lebanon’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lebanon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1990. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Lebanon’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Lebanon flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lebanon, from FEMA’s records.
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.How exposed is Lebanon?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.
Rated higher than 1,719 of the 2,886 Illinois towns we cover.
Lebanon is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Lebanon faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Earthquakes
Heat waves
Cold waves
Tornadoes
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lebanon
Disasters that paid out in Lebanon itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Lebanon) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng20 households applied for aid$51K aid approved
- 2022Severe Storm and Flooding27 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
- 2006Severe Winter Storm$12K to the City of Lebanon for repairs
St. Clair County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Lebanon after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lebanon archive →Get ready for what Lebanon actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Know the nearest cooling center or air-conditioned library.
- Drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Check on neighbors who live alone.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of St. Clair County’s 17 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Lebanon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lebanon.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lebanon.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.