Natural hazards · Metropolis

Metropolis, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Metropolis comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 55 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Metropolis?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Metropolis to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes49%Inland flooding22%Tornadoes11%Heat waves6%Cold waves5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Metropolis faces

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

Earthquakes

49% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year 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 Metropolis flood?

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

55paid claims since 1979

$1.8Mpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 28 claims, $1.0M

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Metropolis is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Massac County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

14flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Metropolis

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MetropolisDeclared for Massac County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

5 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

283 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved $125K to the City of Metropolis for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$1.3M to the City of Metropolis for repairs

2004

Record/Near Record Snow

$7K to the City of Metropolis for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

42 households applied for aid $98K aid approved

Massac County has had 10 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. Metropolis covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Metropolis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Metropolis. 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 Metropolis total about $3.9M 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.