Natural hazards · Olive Branch

Olive Branch, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Olive Branch comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Olive Branch?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Olive Branch to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding43%Earthquakes24%Drought8%Tornadoes7%Strong wind6%Cold waves6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Olive Branch faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

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

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Olive Branch flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Olive Branch.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Alexander County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

92flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

2homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone homes bought out and moved

Disasters that hit Olive Branch

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Olive Branch itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Olive Branch.

Brought FEMA money into Olive BranchDeclared for Alexander County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

156 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

Alexander County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Olive Branch 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 Olive Branch’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Olive Branch. 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.