Storms, floods and disasters in Urbana
Urbana isn’t graded for hazard risk: Urbana has 441 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Urbana 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
Ice storms
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.
Does Urbana flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Urbana. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Urbana isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dallas County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Urbana
Disasters that paid out in Urbana itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Urbana), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$1K to the City of Urbana for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding2 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$9K to the City of Urbana for repairs
- 2007Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$27K to the City of Urbana for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding34 households applied for aid$156K aid approved$861 to the City of Urbana for repairs
- 2002Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding$29K to the City of Urbana for repairs
Dallas County has had 20 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 Urbana after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Urbana archive →Get ready for what Urbana 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Urbana
Is Urbana 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 Dallas County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Urbana?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Urbana’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 Urbana?
By FEMA money that reached Urbana, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2003): 34 households applied for aid, $156K approved, and $861 to the City of Urbana for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Urbana.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Urbana’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.