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Natural hazards · Seneca

Seneca, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Seneca comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 21 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Seneca?

73
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Seneca to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding70%Cold waves15%Tornadoes6%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Seneca faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years 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 Seneca flood?

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

21paid claims since 1979
$519Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Ike: 5 claims, $207K
  • Mid-spring storms: 3 claims, $102K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SenecaDeclared for La Salle County only
2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $35K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $11K aid approved
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

57 households applied for aid $98K aid approved
1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$5K to the Village of Seneca for repairs
La Salle County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Around Seneca

Seneca and the towns around it

Manlius: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBrookfield: High, mostly inland floodingMarseilles: High, mostly inland floodingRutland: Very high, mostly inland floodingMiller: Moderate, mostly inland floodingErienna: Very high, mostly inland floodingAllen: High, mostly inland floodingGrand Rapids: High, mostly inland floodingSeneca: High, mostly inland flooding SenecaManliusBrookfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Senecamostly inland floodingHigh
Brookfieldmostly inland floodingHigh
Manliusmostly 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. Seneca 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 Seneca’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Seneca. 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.

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