Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Donovan
Donovan isn’t graded for hazard risk: Donovan has 281 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Donovan 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
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 Donovan flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Donovan. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Donovan isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Iroquois County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Donovan
Disasters that paid out in Donovan itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Donovan), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2000Illinois Winter Snow Storms$2K to the Village of Donovan for repairs
- 1999Il-winter Storm 1/1/99$3K to the Village of Donovan for repairs
Iroquois County has had 6 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 Donovan after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Donovan archive →Get ready for what Donovan 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.
- 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 Donovan
Is Donovan 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 Iroquois County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Donovan?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Donovan’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 Donovan?
By FEMA money that reached Donovan, Il-winter Storm 1/1/99 (1999): $3K to the Village of Donovan for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Donovan.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Donovan’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.