Natural hazards · Ridgway

Ridgway, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgway comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ridgway?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgway to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding41%Earthquakes27%Heat waves8%Strong wind7%Tornadoes6%Drought6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Ridgway faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 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 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold 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 Ridgway flood?

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

3paid claims since 1978

$2Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gallatin County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Ridgway

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgwayDeclared for Gallatin County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $157K aid approved

Gallatin County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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