Natural hazards · Rock Falls

Rock Falls, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rock Falls comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1984. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rock Falls?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rock Falls to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding61%Tornadoes13%Cold waves12%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Rock Falls faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Rock Falls flood?

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

2paid claims since 1984

$8Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19842026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Whiteside County.

Disasters that hit Rock Falls

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Rock Falls itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Rock Falls.

Brought FEMA money into Rock FallsDeclared for Whiteside County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $594 aid approved

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$19K to the City of Rock Falls for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved

Whiteside County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Rock Falls

Rock Falls and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rock Fallsmostly inland floodingHigh

Colomamostly inland floodingHigh

Sterlingmostly 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. Rock Falls covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rock Falls’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rock Falls. 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 Rock Falls total about $2.4M 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.