Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Squaw Grove Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Squaw Grove Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Squaw Grove 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, Squaw Grove Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #269 of 768 in Illinois. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%), then tornadoes (10%). Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 86%Tornadoes 10%Earthquakes 2%

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

less than 56%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#269 of 768 in Illinois
Hazard risk
B#269 of 768
in Illinois · lower than 56% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
11
paid since 1996 · $263K
Flood claims per home
10 per 1,000
more than 74% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Squaw Grove 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

86%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Hail Ice storms Lightning Hurricanes Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves 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 19% of Squaw Grove 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 Squaw Grove Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Squaw Grove Township, and Squaw Grove Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 10% (higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Squaw Grove Township sits
Squaw Grove Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B #269 of 768 in Illinois; lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Tornadoes10%Everything else4%

The typical Illinois town has higher expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Squaw Grove Township has less expected damage per building than 65% of Illinois towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Squaw Grove Township: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Squaw Grove Township’s 2,717 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Hinckley village (2,006 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 Squaw Grove Township flood? Sometimes: 11 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Squaw Grove Township, from FEMA’s records: 9.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 74% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 2 claims1997: 3 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 5 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 1 claim199619972008
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Ike5 claims · $117K
11
paid claims since 1996
$263K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$24K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Squaw Grove 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: DeKalb County.
Disasters

The storms Squaw Grove Township remembers

None of the 9 disasters declared for DeKalb County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Squaw Grove Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20085 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for DeKalb County
  2. 19973 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 19962 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for DeKalb County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Squaw Grove TownshipDeKalb County only

DeKalb County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Squaw Grove Township archive →
Next door

Squaw Grove Township and its neighbors

Squaw Grove Township is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Pierce Township: not gradedSandwich Township: not gradedBig Rock Township: hazard risk B+Clinton Township: hazard risk APierce TownshipSandwich TownshipBig Rock TownshipClinton TownshipSquaw Grove Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Clinton TownshipAless damage than 87%river and rain flooding—
Big Rock TownshipB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding—
Squaw Grove TownshipBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding11
Pierce Township—554 residents; we grade 1,000+
Sandwich 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Squaw Grove 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 Squaw Grove Township

Is Squaw Grove Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Squaw Grove Township has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #269 of 768 in Illinois. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and tornadoes (10%). 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.

Does Squaw Grove Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 11 claims in Squaw Grove Township since 1996, $263K in all, or 9.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 74% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Ike (5).

Is Squaw Grove 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 DeKalb County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Squaw Grove Township?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Ike: 5 paid, $117K.

Is Squaw Grove Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Squaw Grove Township’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Squaw Grove Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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