Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cotton Hill Township
Cotton Hill Township isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Cotton Hill Township yet. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979.
What Cotton Hill Township faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Cotton Hill Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cotton Hill Township, from FEMA’s records.
Cotton Hill Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sangamon County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cotton Hill Township
Disasters that paid out in Cotton Hill Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Cotton Hill Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$4K to Cotton Hill Township for repairs
- 2006Severe Winter Storm$11K to Cotton Hill Township for repairs
- 1999Il-winter Storm 1/1/99$7K to Cotton Hill Township for repairs
Sangamon County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Cotton Hill Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cotton Hill Township archive →Cotton Hill Township and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 43 |
| Capital Township | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 51 |
| South Fork Township | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Buckhart Township | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Rochester Township | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Pawnee Township | — | not graded yet | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Cotton Hill Township faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Cotton Hill Township
Does Cotton Hill Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Cotton Hill Township since 1979, $3K in all.
Is Cotton Hill Township in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Sangamon County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cotton Hill Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cotton Hill Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Cotton Hill Township?
By FEMA money that reached Cotton Hill Township, Severe Winter Storm (2006): $11K to Cotton Hill Township for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cotton Hill Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cotton Hill Township’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.