Natural hazards · Niles

Niles, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Niles comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 58 claims here since 1987. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Niles?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Niles to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves27%Tornadoes15%Heat waves7%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Niles faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

27% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingWildfireDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Niles flood?

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

58paid claims since 1987

$2.0Mpaid to owners

18homes flooded more than once

19872026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 14 claims, $322K
Hurricane Ike: 5 claims, $322K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 25% off flood insurance. Niles is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 5) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Cook County.

Disasters that hit Niles

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NilesDeclared for Cook County only

2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng

11 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

40 households applied for aid $191K aid approved

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

507 households applied for aid $815K aid approved

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$100K to the Village of Niles for repairs

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

41 households applied for aid $56K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

624 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved $85K to the Village of Niles for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$66K to the Village of Niles for repairs

2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$37K to the Village of Niles for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$48K to the Village of Niles for repairs

Cook County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Niles

Niles and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Glenviewmostly inland floodingHigh

Morton Grovemostly inland floodingModerate

Chicagomostly inland floodingModerate

Nilesmostly inland floodingModerate

Park Ridgemostly inland floodingModerate

Skokiemostly inland floodingModerate

Nilesmostly inland floodingLow

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. Niles covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Niles’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Niles. 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 Niles total about $11.3M 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.