Natural hazards · Murphysboro

Murphysboro, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Murphysboro comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1983. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Murphysboro?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Earthquakes34%Inland flooding31%Cold waves13%Strong wind8%Heat waves6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Murphysboro faces

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

Earthquakes

34% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce 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 Murphysboro flood?

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

7paid claims since 1983

$78Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $43K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings floodproofed

Disasters that hit Murphysboro

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MurphysboroDeclared for Jackson County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

68 households applied for aid $354K aid approved

Jackson County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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. Murphysboro covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Murphysboro’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Murphysboro. 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 Murphysboro total about $2.5M 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.