Natural hazards · Sterling

Sterling, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sterling comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2016. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sterling?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sterling to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes17%Cold waves14%Strong wind7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Sterling faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Sterling flood?

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

1paid claims since 2016

$659paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20162026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Whiteside County.

Disasters that hit Sterling

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SterlingDeclared for Whiteside County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

28 households applied for aid $48K aid approved

Whiteside County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Sterling

Sterling and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rock Fallsmostly inland floodingHigh

Colomamostly inland floodingHigh

Galtmostly inland floodingModerate

Hopkinsmostly inland floodingModerate

Sterlingmostly inland floodingModerate

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. Sterling covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sterling’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sterling. 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 Sterling total about $4.9M 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.