Natural hazards · Sheffield

Sheffield, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sheffield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sheffield?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sheffield to be higher than in 19% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding40%Tornadoes18%Drought17%Cold waves7%Strong wind6%Earthquakes5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Sheffield faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Sheffield flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bureau County.

Disasters that hit Sheffield

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SheffieldDeclared for Bureau County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$3K to the Village of Sheffield for repairs

2006

Snow

$2K to the Village of Sheffield for repairs

2000

Illinois Winter Snow Storms

$770 to the Village of Sheffield for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$1K to the Village of Sheffield for repairs

Bureau County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods 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. Sheffield 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 Sheffield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Sheffield. 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.