Natural hazards · Sheldon

Sheldon, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sheldon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sheldon?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sheldon to be higher than in 90% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding65%Cold waves27%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Sheldon faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

27% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Sheldon flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Iroquois County.

Disasters that hit Sheldon

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SheldonDeclared for Iroquois County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$2K to the Village of Sheldon for repairs

Iroquois County has had 7 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. Sheldon 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 Sheldon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Sheldon. 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.