Natural hazards · New Boston

New Boston, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in New Boston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is New Boston?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in New Boston to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding38%Drought17%Strong wind15%Cold waves10%Heat waves5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What New Boston faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 New Boston flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in New Boston.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mercer County.

Disasters that hit New Boston

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into New BostonDeclared for Mercer County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

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

Around New Boston

New Boston and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

New Bostonmostly inland floodingVery high

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. New Boston is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to New Boston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of New Boston. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.