FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Hopkins Township as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hopkins Township gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Hopkins 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
Hail
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.
What’s behind Hopkins Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 78% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hopkins Township, and Hopkins Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 10% (higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts).
B− higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Hopkins Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Hopkins Township: $680K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Hopkins Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hopkins Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hopkins 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: Whiteside County.The storms Hopkins Township remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Whiteside County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hopkins Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Whiteside County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Hopkins Township and its neighbors
Hopkins Township is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | Bless damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Mount Pleasant Township | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Hopkins Township | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Coloma Township | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 13 |
| Hume Township | — | 574 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Sterling Township | — | not graded yet | |
| Como | — | 535 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Genesee Township | — | 615 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Lyndon Township | — | 656 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Jordan Township | — | 838 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Hopkins 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Hopkins Township
Is Hopkins Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hopkins Township has higher expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (78%) and tornadoes (10%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Hopkins 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 Whiteside County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hopkins Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hopkins Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Hopkins Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (78%), and Hopkins Township’s rate for it is higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hopkins Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hopkins 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.