Mount Zion’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mount Zion comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Mount Zion’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Mount Zion flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mount Zion. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Mount Zion isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Macon County.How exposed is Mount Zion?
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 cold waves.
Rated higher than 1,719 of the 2,886 Illinois towns we cover.
Mount Zion is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Mount Zion faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Heat waves
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mount Zion
Disasters that paid out in Mount Zion itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Mount Zion) and its biggest flood years.
- 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$14K to the Village of Mount Zion for repairs
- 2006Severe Winter Storm$5K to the Village of Mount Zion for repairs
- 1999Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99$4K to the Village of Mount Zion for repairs
Macon County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.
Old photos of Mount Zion after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mount Zion archive →Get ready for what Mount Zion 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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.
Mount Zion and its neighbors
Mount Zion ranks 4th calmest of 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Wheatland | High | inland flooding | 1 |
| Mount Zion | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Long Creek | Moderate | inland flooding | 10 |
| Decatur | Moderate | inland flooding | 110 |
| Long Creek | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of Macon County’s 9 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 Mount Zion’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Mount Zion.
- 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 Mount Zion.
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.