Natural hazards · Unity

Unity, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Unity comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Unity?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Unity 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 Unity 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 Unity flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Unity 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.

Disasters that hit Unity

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into UnityDeclared for Alexander County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $35K aid approved

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