680 flood insurance claims·$12.5M paid·6 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around LaSalle County, Illinois. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Standard river flooding and intense flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk profile in LaSalle County, IL, which recorded 45 general flood events and 36 flash flood events, including one flash flood fatality, over the last 30 years. Recent regional events include severe thunderstorms that brought torrential rainfall and flash flooding to parts of the county in August 2025, as well as persistent moderate to heavy rain resulting in localized flooding in January 2025.
Federal insurance records reflect this hazard distribution across property types. Properties located in FEMA Zone A experienced the highest impact with 376 National Flood Insurance Program claims averaging $25,189 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Claims were also filed in lower-risk or unclassified zones, including 98 claims in Zone X averaging an average water depth of 13 inches, and 170 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within designated high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, where average flood depths reach 17 inches, while remaining aware that properties in Zone X and unclassified zones also face measurable flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of LaSalle County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
412 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 13 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2008, with 111 claims and $2.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
12 NOAA storm reports from LaSalle County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Nov 17, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 13, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 20, 2007 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 20, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
81 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 45 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 28, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. Persistent moderate to heavy rain during the morning of the 31st resulted in a few instances of localized flooding, mainly around the interior Chicago metro area. Despite rain reports largely below 1.5, NWS Chicago recorded a 12 frost depth in Romeoville on the morning of the 31st, which made the area more susceptible to flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2025. During the afternoon and evening of the 18th, a few rounds of thunderstorms brought torrential rainfall to much of northern Illinois resulting in flash flooding. One particularly strong storm also produced damaging winds in DeKalb County. Initial reports estimate $8.8 million in flood damages around northern and northeast Illinois, and around $2.5 million in the city of Chicago alone.
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2025. During the evening of the 17th, a strong thunderstorm brought torrential rainfall to parts of LaSalle County.
Flood · Apr 28, 2024. Several hours of moderate to heavy rainfall during the night of the 27th into the morning of the 28th resulted in numerous instances flooding across the Rutland area in LaSalle County.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in LaSalle County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.