Natural hazards · Riverwoods

Riverwoods, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Riverwoods comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 25 claims here since 1982. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Riverwoods?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Riverwoods to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Tornadoes11%Cold waves8%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Riverwoods faces

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

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Riverwoods flood?

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

25paid claims since 1982

$400Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 5 claims, $163K

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

🏷️ 15% off flood insurance. Riverwoods is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Lake County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Riverwoods

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RiverwoodsDeclared for Lake County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $14K aid approved $8K to the Village of Riverwoods for repairs

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Village of Riverwoods for repairs

2008

Record Snow and Near Record Snow

$6K to the Village of Riverwoods for repairs

2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$2K to the Village of Riverwoods for repairs

Lake County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.

Around Riverwoods

Riverwoods and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Deerfieldmostly inland floodingHigh

Riverwoodsmostly inland floodingHigh

Bannockburnmostly inland floodingHigh

Buffalo Grovemostly inland floodingModerate

Lincolnshiremostly inland floodingLow

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. Riverwoods covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Riverwoods’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Riverwoods. 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 Riverwoods total about $8.9M 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.