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Natural hazards · Rapids

Rapids, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rapids comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 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 Rapids?

83
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rapids to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding58%Cold waves15%Tornadoes9%Heat waves5%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Rapids faces

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

Inland flooding

58% 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 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 31 years in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Rapids flood?

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

5paid claims since 1993
$42Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19932026

Biggest named events

  • Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $750
  • Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $14K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Rapids isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rock Island County.
Disasters that hit Rapids

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RapidsDeclared for Rock Island County only
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$47K to the Village of Rapids for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$3K to the Village of Rapids for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $8K aid approved $3K to the Village of Rapids for repairs
2001

Flooding

$44K to the Village of Rapids for repairs
Rock Island County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Rapids

Rapids and the towns around it

Port Byron: High, mostly inland floodingPort Byron: High, mostly inland floodingHampton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCoe: High, mostly inland floodingCordova: Very high, mostly inland floodingCordova: Very high, mostly inland floodingColona: High, mostly inland floodingSouth Moline: Low, mostly inland floodingZuma: Very high, mostly inland floodingEast Moline: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBettendorf: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCampbell's Island: High, mostly inland floodingHanna: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRapids City: Very high, mostly inland flooding Rapids CityPort ByronPort ByronHampton
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Rapids Citymostly inland floodingVery high
Port Byronmostly inland floodingHigh
Port Byronmostly inland floodingHigh
Hamptonmostly inland floodingModerate
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. Rapids 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 Rapids’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Rapids. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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