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Natural hazards · West

West, IL natural hazards

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

57
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding33%Earthquakes24%Drought12%Tornadoes12%Cold waves7%Everything else12%
By hazard

What West faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Drought

12% of expected damage
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. West isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Effingham County.
Disasters that hit West

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WestDeclared for Effingham County only
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$8K to the Township of West for repairs
Effingham County has had 5 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often tornadoes and winter storms.
Around West

West and the towns around it

Mason: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLa Clede: High, mostly inland floodingMound: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWheatland: High, mostly inland floodingLone Grove: High, mostly inland floodingLarkinsburg: High, mostly inland floodingUnion: High, mostly inland floodingJackson: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMeacham: Moderate, mostly earthquakesAvena: High, mostly inland floodingMoccasin: Moderate, mostly inland floodingOtego: High, mostly inland floodingWilberton: High, mostly inland floodingKinmundy: Moderate, mostly earthquakesWest: Moderate, mostly inland flooding WestMasonLa CledeMoundWheatlandLone Grove
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
La Cledemostly inland floodingHigh
Wheatlandmostly inland floodingHigh
Lone Grovemostly inland floodingHigh
Westmostly inland floodingModerate
Moundmostly inland floodingModerate
Masonmostly inland floodingModerate
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 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’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of West. 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.

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Where to, neighbor?

You’re in West, ILEffingham CountyView boundary

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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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