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Odell, ILPhoto: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Odell Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Odell Township faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Odell Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 83%Tornadoes 6%Earthquakes 4%

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

more than 58%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Illinois · higher than 58% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 8 declared for Livingston County
By hazard

What Odell 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

83%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Hail Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Hurricanes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves top 4% Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 18% of Odell Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Odell Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Odell Township, and Odell Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 4%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Odell Township sits
Odell Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Odell Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Tornadoes6%Earthquakes4%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $920K a year in losses across Odell Township: $589K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Odell Township’s 1,225 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Odell village (1,003 residents) and Sullivan township (657 residents) and Cullom village (520 residents) and Round Grove township (341 residents) and Broughton township (303 residents) and Union township (195 residents) and Nevada township (167 residents) and Campus village (149 residents) and Emington village (101 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Odell Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Odell Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Odell 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: Livingston County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Odell Township

Disasters that paid out in Odell Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Odell Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$3K to Odell Township for repairs
  2. 1999Il-winter Storm 1/1/99$3K to Odell Township for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Odell TownshipLivingston County only

Livingston County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Odell Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Odell Township archive →
Next door

Odell Township and its neighbors

Odell Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Owego Township: not gradedEsmen Township: not gradedUnion Township: not gradedNevada Township: not gradedOwego TownshipEsmen TownshipUnion TownshipNevada TownshipOdell Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Odell TownshipC+more damage than 58%river and rain flooding0
Owego Township—391 residents; we grade 1,000+
Esmen Township—461 residents; we grade 1,000+
Union Township—249 residents; we grade 1,000+
Nevada Township—176 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Odell 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.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Odell Township

Is Odell Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Odell Township has higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%) and tornadoes (6%). 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 Odell 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 Livingston County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Odell Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Odell 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 Odell Township?

By FEMA money that reached Odell Township, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (2011): $3K to Odell Township for repairs.

Is Odell Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Odell Township’s rate for it is higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Odell Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Odell 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.