Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Morris Township than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Morris Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, #678 of 768 in Illinois. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Morris 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
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 Morris Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Morris Township, and Morris Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 3%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #678 of 768 in Illinois; higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Morris Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Illinois town has higher expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Morris Township has more expected damage per building than 88% of Illinois towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.6M a year in losses across Morris Township: $3.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Morris Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Morris Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Morris 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: Grundy County.The storms Morris Township remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Grundy County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Morris Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Grundy County has had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Morris Township and its neighbors
Morris Township is 3rd of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goose Lake Township | Cmore damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 105 |
| Saratoga Township | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Morris Township | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Morris | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 58 |
| Erienna Township | Dmore damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 34 |
| Wauponsee Township | Dmore damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 13 |
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 Morris 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.
- 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 Morris Township
Is Morris Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Morris Township has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #678 of 768 in Illinois. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and tornadoes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Morris 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 Grundy County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Morris Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Morris Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Morris Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Morris Township’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Morris Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Morris 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.