Natural hazards · Pontoosuc

Pontoosuc, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pontoosuc comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 66 claims here since 1993. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pontoosuc?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pontoosuc to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding39%Cold waves15%Drought13%Heat waves12%Strong wind7%Tornadoes6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Pontoosuc faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 14 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 Pontoosuc flood?

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

66paid claims since 1993

$1.1Mpaid to owners

11homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 5 claims, $54K
Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $15K

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

Insurance rates: Hancock County.

Disasters that hit Pontoosuc

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PontoosucDeclared for Hancock County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$5K to the Village of Pontoosuc for repairs

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$1K to the Village of Pontoosuc for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

47 households applied for aid $218K aid approved $24K to the Village of Pontoosuc for repairs

2001

Flooding

$29K to the Village of Pontoosuc for repairs

Hancock County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Pontoosuc

Pontoosuc and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

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