Natural hazards · Rochester

Rochester, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rochester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rochester?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rochester to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes15%Cold waves11%Earthquakes9%Heat waves6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Rochester faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 24 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Rochester flood?

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

4paid claims since 1979

$27Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sangamon County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Rochester

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RochesterDeclared for Sangamon County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$3K to the Village of Rochester for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$19K to the Village of Rochester for repairs

2006

Tornadoes and Severe Storms

10 households applied for aid $5K aid approved $4K to the Village of Rochester for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$5K to the Village of Rochester for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$2K to the Village of Rochester for repairs

Sangamon County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

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