Natural hazards · St. Clair

St. Clair, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Clair comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 38 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Clair?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Clair to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding36%Earthquakes27%Heat waves12%Cold waves11%Tornadoes9%Everything else5%

By hazard

What St. Clair faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Heat waves

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

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 St. Clair flood?

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

38paid claims since 1978

$594Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Late July Flooding: 12 claims, $254K
Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $60K

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. St. Clair 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 St. Clair

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in St. Clair itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of St. Clair.

Brought FEMA money into St. ClairDeclared for St. Clair County only

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$78K to the Township of St. Clair for repairs

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

Around St. Clair

St. Clair and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bellevillemostly earthquakesHigh

St. Clairmostly inland floodingHigh

Shilohmostly inland floodingHigh

Swanseamostly inland floodingHigh

Shiloh Valleymostly inland floodingHigh

Smithtonmostly earthquakesHigh

Caseyvillemostly earthquakesHigh

O'Fallonmostly inland floodingModerate

Fairview Heightsmostly earthquakesModerate

Stookeymostly earthquakesModerate

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. St. Clair covers 7 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to St. Clair’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of St. Clair. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across St. Clair total about $18.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.