Natural hazards · St. Elmo

St. Elmo, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Elmo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Elmo?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Elmo to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding40%Earthquakes22%Cold waves11%Tornadoes9%Heat waves7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What St. Elmo 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

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year 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 St. Elmo flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Fayette County.

Disasters that hit St. Elmo

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. ElmoDeclared for Fayette County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

17 households applied for aid $38K aid approved

Fayette County has had 6 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often tornadoes 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. St. Elmo 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 St. Elmo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. Elmo. 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.