Natural hazards · Waterloo

Waterloo, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterloo comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1993. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waterloo?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterloo to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes26%Inland flooding23%Heat waves19%Tornadoes13%Strong wind8%Cold waves7%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Waterloo faces

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

Earthquakes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 48 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Waterloo flood?

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

3paid claims since 1993

$32Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $15K
Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $3K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monroe County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

10flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Waterloo

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaterlooDeclared for Monroe County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$4K to the City of Waterloo for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$338K to the City of Waterloo for repairs

Monroe County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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