Natural hazards · Thebes

Thebes, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Thebes comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 71 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Thebes?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Thebes to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding43%Earthquakes24%Drought8%Tornadoes7%Strong wind6%Cold waves6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Thebes faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

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

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Thebes flood?

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

71paid claims since 1978

$262Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $12K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Alexander County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Thebes

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ThebesDeclared for Alexander County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$40K to the Village of Thebes for repairs

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

37 households applied for aid $124K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$2K to the Village of Thebes for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Alexander County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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

Thebes, IL natural hazards

How exposed is Thebes?

What Thebes faces

Inland flooding

Earthquakes

Drought

Tornadoes

Strong wind

Cold waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Thebes flood?

Biggest named events

Homes that flooded again and again

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Winter Storm

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

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