Natural hazards · West Galena

West Galena, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Galena comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West Galena?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Galena to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding57%Cold waves17%Tornadoes13%Everything else13%

By hazard

What West Galena faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 26 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 West Galena flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jo Daviess County.

Disasters that hit West Galena

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Jo Daviess County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching West Galena itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into West GalenaDeclared for Jo Daviess County only

Jo Daviess County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around West Galena

West Galena and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

West Galenamostly inland floodingModerate

East Galenamostly inland floodingModerate

Galenamostly inland floodingModerate

Rawlinsmostly inland floodingModerate

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