Photo: Nmaviano · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Riverside Township faces more hazard damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Riverside Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, #646 of 768 in Illinois. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 184 claims here since 1980.
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 stands out about Riverside Township’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Riverside 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 Riverside Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Riverside Township, and Riverside Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 6% (higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts).
C− #646 of 768 in Illinois; higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Riverside Township’s residents live in 4 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, Riverside Township has more expected damage per building than 84% of Illinois towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $11.4M a year in losses across Riverside Township: $7.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Riverside Township flood? Yes: 184 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Riverside Township, from FEMA’s records: 26.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Ike56 claims · $1.7M
- The Mid-spring storms52 claims · $1.9M
Riverside 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: Cook County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Riverside Township
Disasters that paid out in Riverside Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Riverside Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2006Snow$3K to Riverside Township for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Cook County has had 21 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.
Old photos of Riverside Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Riverside Township archive →Riverside Township and its neighbors
Riverside Township is 5th of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | Cmore damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 61 |
| Lyons Township | Cmore damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 185 |
| Proviso Township | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 2,580 |
| Riverside | C−more damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 130 |
| Riverside Township | C−more damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 184 |
| Berwyn | C−more damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Lyons | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 69 |
| Berwyn Township | — | not graded yet | |
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 Riverside 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 Riverside Township
Is Riverside Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Riverside Township has higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #646 of 768 in Illinois. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%) and tornadoes (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Riverside Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 184 claims in Riverside Township since 1980, $4.4M in all, or 26.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Ike (56).
Is Riverside 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 Cook County, 32% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Riverside Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Riverside 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 Riverside Township?
By FEMA money that reached Riverside Township, Snow (2006): $3K to Riverside Township for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Ike: 56 paid, $1.7M.
Is Riverside Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Riverside Township’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Riverside Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Riverside 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.