Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Locust Township as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Locust Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #267 of 768 in Illinois. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%), then earthquakes (28%). 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 Locust 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
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Locust Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in Locust Township, and Locust Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 28% (higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts).
B #267 of 768 in Illinois; lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Locust Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Illinois town has higher expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Locust Township has less expected damage per building than 65% of Illinois towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Locust Township: $893K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Locust Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Locust Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Locust 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: Christian County.The storms Locust Township remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Christian County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Locust Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Christian County has had 5 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Locust Township and its neighbors
Locust Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locust Township | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| May Township | B−more damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Assumption Township | — | not graded yet | |
| Johnson Township | — | 790 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Rosamond Township | — | 143 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 Locust 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Locust Township
Is Locust Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Locust Township has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #267 of 768 in Illinois. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%) and earthquakes (28%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Locust 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 Christian County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Locust Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Locust Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Locust Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and Locust Township’s rate for it is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Locust Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Locust 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.