Natural hazards · North Otter

North Otter, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North Otter comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate 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 North Otter?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in North Otter to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding35%Earthquakes31%Tornadoes9%Cold waves8%Strong wind5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What North Otter faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

31% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 North Otter flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in North Otter.

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Macoupin County.

Disasters that hit North Otter

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in North Otter itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of North Otter.

Brought FEMA money into North OtterDeclared for Macoupin County only

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$8K to the Township of North Otter for repairs

Macoupin County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

Around North Otter

North Otter and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Girardmostly inland floodingModerate

North Ottermostly inland floodingModerate

North Palmyramostly inland floodingModerate

South Ottermostly inland floodingModerate

Talkingtonmostly inland floodingLow

Virdenmostly 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. North Otter 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 North Otter’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of North Otter. 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.