FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Spring Garden Township than in 75% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spring Garden Township gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns, #589 of 768 in Illinois. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (50%), then river and rain flooding (34%). 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 Spring Garden Township faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Strong wind
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 Spring Garden Township’s grade
Earthquakes are 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Spring Garden Township, and Spring Garden Township’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 5%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C #589 of 768 in Illinois; higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Spring Garden 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, Spring Garden Township has more expected damage per building than 77% of Illinois towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Spring Garden Township: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Spring Garden Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Spring Garden Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Spring Garden 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: Jefferson County.The storms Spring Garden Township remembers
None of the 2 disasters declared for Jefferson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Spring Garden Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Jefferson County has had 2 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Spring Garden Township and its neighbors
Spring Garden Township is 2nd of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodds Township | Cmore damage than 72% | earthquakes | 3 |
| Spring Garden Township | Cmore damage than 75% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Ewing Township | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Moores Prairie Township | — | 380 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Elk Prairie Township | — | 569 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Northern Township | — | 317 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 Spring Garden 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Spring Garden Township
Is Spring Garden Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spring Garden Township has higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #589 of 768 in Illinois. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (50%) and river and rain flooding (34%). 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 Spring Garden 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 Jefferson County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Spring Garden Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Spring Garden Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Spring Garden Township at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Spring Garden Township’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Spring Garden Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Spring Garden 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.