Natural hazards · Waltham

Waltham, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waltham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waltham?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waltham to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves24%Tornadoes11%Earthquakes7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Waltham faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Waltham flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: La Salle County.

Disasters that hit Waltham

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WalthamDeclared for La Salle County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$6K to the Township of Waltham for repairs

1999

Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99

$3K to the Township of Waltham for repairs

La Salle County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Waltham

Waltham and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Uticamostly inland floodingLow

Wallacemostly inland floodingLow

Ophirmostly inland floodingLow

Walthammostly inland floodingVery low

Dimmickmostly inland floodingVery low

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