TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
SalemGood morning
Natural hazards · Salem

Salem, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Salem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

How exposed is Salem?

60
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Salem to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and strong winds.

Inland flooding33%Strong wind16%Cold waves13%Drought11%Tornadoes10%Heat waves6%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Salem faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Salem flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Salem.

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Salem isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Knox County.
Disasters that hit Salem

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Knox County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salem itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into SalemDeclared for Knox County only
Knox County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Salem

Salem and the towns around it

Farmington: Low, mostly inland floodingElmwood: Low, mostly inland floodingElba: High, mostly inland floodingMaquon: High, mostly inland floodingCanton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFairview: Low, mostly inland floodingTrivoli: Low, mostly inland floodingNorris: Low, mostly inland floodingRosefield: Low, mostly inland floodingBrimfield: Low, mostly inland floodingTruro: High, mostly inland floodingHaw Creek: High, mostly inland floodingChestnut: High, mostly inland floodingSalem: High, mostly inland flooding SalemFarmingtonElmwoodElbaMaquon
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Salemmostly inland floodingHigh
Elbamostly inland floodingHigh
Maquonmostly inland floodingHigh
Elmwoodmostly inland floodingLow
Farmingtonmostly 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. Salem 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 Salem’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Salem. 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Salem, ILKnox CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Salem is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map