Natural hazards · St. Mary

St. Mary, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Mary comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate 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. Mary?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Mary to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and drought.

Cold waves22%Drought20%Inland flooding18%Heat waves14%Strong wind9%Tornadoes6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What St. Mary faces

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

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

20% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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. Mary flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hancock County.

Disasters that hit St. Mary

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. MaryDeclared for Hancock County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$2K to the Township of St. Mary for repairs

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

Around St. Mary

St. Mary and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

St. Marymostly cold wavesModerate

Harmonymostly cold wavesModerate

Hancockmostly cold wavesModerate

Augustamostly cold wavesModerate

Lamoinemostly cold wavesLow

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. Mary 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. Mary’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of St. Mary. 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.