Natural hazards · Pearl

Pearl, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pearl comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pearl?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pearl to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding40%Cold waves14%Heat waves12%Drought11%Strong wind10%Tornadoes6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Pearl faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Pearl flood?

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

9paid claims since 1979

$270Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19792026

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. Pearl isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Pike County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

17flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Pearl

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PearlDeclared for Pike County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$27K to the Village of Pearl for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $19K to the Village of Pearl for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

27 households applied for aid $167K aid approved

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$11K to the Village of Pearl for repairs

Pike County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Pearl

Pearl and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Pattersonmostly inland floodingVery high

Pearlmostly 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. Pearl 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 Pearl’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Pearl. 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.