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Natural hazards · Riverdale

Riverdale, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Riverdale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1984. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Riverdale?

83
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding55%Cold waves23%Tornadoes13%Heat waves7%Everything else4%
By hazard

What Riverdale faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Heat waves

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Riverdale flood?

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

4paid claims since 1984
$10Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19842026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Riverdale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cook County.
Disasters that hit Riverdale

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RiverdaleDeclared for Cook County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng

936 households applied for aid $4.2M aid approved
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

2,713 households applied for aid $7.8M aid approved
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

1,100 households applied for aid $1.8M aid approved
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$59K to the Village of Riverdale for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

1,134 households applied for aid $2.3M aid approved
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

967 households applied for aid $917K aid approved $5K to the Village of Riverdale for repairs
2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$13K to the Village of Riverdale for repairs
1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$16K to the Village of Riverdale for repairs
Cook County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Riverdale

Riverdale and the towns around it

Calumet: Very high, mostly inland floodingChicago: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBlue Island: Very high, mostly inland floodingDixmoor: Very high, mostly inland floodingThornton: Very high, mostly inland floodingDolton: Very high, mostly inland floodingCalumet Park: Very high, mostly inland floodingWorth: Very high, mostly inland floodingLeyden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMaine: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRosemont: Low, mostly inland floodingSchiller Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStickney: High, mostly inland floodingPark Ridge: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElk Grove: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Low, mostly inland floodingDes Plaines: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAlsip: High, mostly inland floodingRobbins: High, mostly inland floodingPosen: Very high, mostly inland floodingHarvey: Very high, mostly inland floodingBremen: High, mostly inland floodingBurnham: High, mostly inland floodingBloom: High, mostly inland floodingNorth: Moderate, mostly inland floodingThornton: Low, mostly inland floodingHammond: Low, mostly inland floodingLansing: High, mostly inland floodingMunster: High, mostly inland floodingSouth Holland: Very high, mostly inland floodingCalumet City: High, mostly inland floodingRiverdale: Very high, mostly inland flooding RiverdaleCalumetChicagoBlue IslandDixmoorThorntonDolton
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Doltonmostly inland floodingVery high
Calumetmostly inland floodingVery high
Blue Islandmostly inland floodingVery high
Dixmoormostly inland floodingVery high
Riverdalemostly inland floodingVery high
Thorntonmostly inland floodingVery high
Chicagomostly 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. Riverdale covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Riverdale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Riverdale. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Riverdale total about $6.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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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