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Natural hazards · Thornton

Thornton, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Thornton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2,023 claims here since 1978.

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

How exposed is Thornton?

81
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Thornton to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding60%Cold waves19%Tornadoes12%Heat waves6%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Thornton faces

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

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Thornton flood?

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

2,023paid claims since 1978
$9.3Mpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Ike: 434 claims, $2.6M
  • Mid-spring storms: 99 claims, $687K
  • Midwest Flooding: 3 claims, $40K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Thornton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cook County.
Disasters that hit Thornton

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Cook County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Thornton itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into ThorntonDeclared for Cook County only
Cook County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Thornton

Thornton and the towns around it

Bremen: High, mostly inland floodingChicago: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBurnham: High, mostly inland floodingBloom: High, mostly inland floodingNorth: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCalumet: Very high, mostly inland floodingThornton: Low, mostly inland floodingHammond: Low, mostly inland floodingRiverdale: Very high, mostly inland floodingLansing: High, mostly inland floodingMunster: High, mostly inland floodingDixmoor: Very high, mostly inland floodingOrland: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRich: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWorth: Very high, mostly inland floodingPosen: Very high, mostly inland floodingTinley Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLeyden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMaine: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRosemont: Low, mostly inland floodingSchiller Park: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStickney: High, mostly inland floodingPark Ridge: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElk Grove: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNiles: Low, mostly inland floodingDes Plaines: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCalumet City: High, mostly inland floodingSteger: Low, mostly inland floodingHomewood: High, mostly inland floodingFlossmoor: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCrete: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCrete: Low, mostly inland floodingSt. John: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEast Chicago: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWhiting: Low, mostly inland floodingCalumet: Low, mostly inland floodingGary: Low, mostly inland floodingHighland: High, mostly inland floodingGriffith: Low, mostly inland floodingCalumet Park: Very high, mostly inland floodingBlue Island: Very high, mostly inland floodingSouth Holland: Very high, mostly inland floodingGlenwood: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDolton: Very high, mostly inland floodingLynwood: Very high, mostly inland floodingDyer: High, mostly inland floodingThornton: Very high, mostly inland flooding ThorntonBremenChicagoBurnhamBloomNorthCalumetThorntonHammondRiverdaleLansingMunsterDixmoor
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Calumetmostly inland floodingVery high
Dixmoormostly inland floodingVery high
Riverdalemostly inland floodingVery high
Thorntonmostly inland floodingVery high
Lansingmostly inland floodingHigh
Munstermostly inland floodingHigh
Burnhammostly inland floodingHigh
Bremenmostly inland floodingHigh
Bloommostly inland floodingHigh
Northmostly inland floodingModerate
Chicagomostly inland floodingModerate
Hammondmostly inland floodingLow
Thorntonmostly inland floodingLow
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. Thornton covers 41 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Thornton’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Thornton. 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 Thornton total about $104M 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.

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Illinois · IL · Cook County
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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