Natural hazards · Smithton

Smithton, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Smithton comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is 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 Smithton?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Smithton to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes36%Inland flooding31%Heat waves9%Cold waves9%Tornadoes8%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Smithton faces

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

Earthquakes

36% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 24 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Smithton flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: St. Clair County.

Disasters that hit Smithton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SmithtonDeclared for St. Clair County only

2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng

12 households applied for aid $23K aid approved

2022

Severe Storm and Flooding

18 households applied for aid

St. Clair County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Smithton

Smithton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bellevillemostly earthquakesHigh

Smithtonmostly earthquakesHigh

Freeburgmostly inland floodingHigh

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. Smithton 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 Smithton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Smithton. 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.