Natural hazards · Marion

Marion, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Marion comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 160 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Marion?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Marion to be higher than in 77% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes43%Inland flooding19%Strong wind14%Cold waves9%Tornadoes7%Heat waves5%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Marion faces

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

Earthquakes

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

14% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Marion flood?

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

160paid claims since 1982

$1.8Mpaid to owners

15homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

March storm: 20 claims, $344K
Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $7K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (6) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Williamson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

49flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Marion

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MarionDeclared for Williamson County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

48 households applied for aid $149K aid approved $3K to the City of Marion for repairs

2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$730K to the City of Marion for repairs

2004

Record/Near Record Snow

$31K to the City of Marion for repairs

Williamson County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

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. Marion covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Marion’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Marion. 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 Marion total about $9.2M 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.