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Lee County, IL flood insurance claims history
142 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Lee County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $730K on them. The worst year was 1985 with 26 claims. Lee County ranks #45 of 101 in Illinois by claim count.
At a glance
- 23% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- Flood claims were filed in 7 of the last 10 years.
- More flood claims than 56% of the 101 Illinois counties with any claims on file — and more than 1 of its 5 neighbors.
- ZIP 61021 has the most claims in the county (116, 82%). Check your ZIP →
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Flood claims by year
Claims by year of loss, 1978–2019. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.
Biggest flood events in Lee County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 25 | $70K | $3K | 1985 |
| Mid-spring storms | 3 | $19K | $6K | 2013 |
| Hurricane Ike | 1 | $7K | $7K | 2008 |
| Mid-spring storms | 1 | $5K | $5K | 2011 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 1 | $0 | $0 | 1996 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 1 | $1K | $1K | 1982 |
23% of claims here fall under these 6 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.
Claims by flood zone
Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 59 | $415K | $7K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 18 | $102K | $6K |
| Zone not recorded | 65 | $214K | $3K |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 52 | 37% |
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 44 | 31% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 38 | 27% |
| Not recorded | 6 | 4% |
| Other causes | 2 | 1% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Lee County
8 ZIP codes in Lee County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Lee County.
| 61021 | 116 | $579K | 82% | 23 | 2019 |
| 61310 | 10 | $45K | 7% | 6 | 2016 |
| 60553 | 5 | $74K | 4% | 3 | 2007 |
| Not reported | 4 | $5K | 3% | 3 | 1988 |
| 61081 | 3 | $0 | 2% | 3 | 2013 |
| 61057 | 2 | $13K | 1% | 2 | 1994 |
| 61261 | 1 | $9K | 1% | 1 | 1994 |
| 61042 | 1 | $5K | 1% | 1 | 2011 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Lee County flood?
February accounts for the most flood losses (52 claims, 37%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 18 | 13% |
| February | 52 | 37% |
| March | 22 | 15% |
| April | 8 | 6% |
| May | 8 | 6% |
| June | 14 | 10% |
| July | 10 | 7% |
| August | 6 | 4% |
| September | 2 | 1% |
| October | 1 | 1% |
| November | 0 | 0% |
| December | 1 | 1% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | $0 |
| 2016 | 1 | $0 |
| 2015 | 3 | $18K |
| 2014 | 1 | $2K |
| 2013 | 3 | $19K |
| 2011 | 4 | $20K |
| 2010 | 1 | $0 |
| 2008 | 6 | $28K |
| 2007 | 3 | $60K |
| 2002 | 1 | $10K |
| 2001 | 1 | $0 |
| 2000 | 4 | $5K |
| 1999 | 2 | $4K |
| 1996 | 6 | $25K |
| 1994 | 21 | $234K |
| 1993 | 17 | $87K |
| 1992 | 1 | $0 |
| 1990 | 1 | $1K |
| 1988 | 4 | $7K |
| 1986 | 1 | $908 |
| 1985 | 26 | $72K |
| 1984 | 10 | $65K |
| 1983 | 1 | $77 |
| 1982 | 2 | $3K |
| 1981 | 3 | $1K |
| 1980 | 1 | $0 |
| 1979 | 12 | $59K |
| 1978 | 5 | $9K |
Neighboring counties
Lee County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County (this page) | 142 | $730K | 23% |
| LaSalle County | 680 | $12.7M | 26% |
| DeKalb County | 404 | $4.6M | 25% |
| Ogle County | 308 | $3.5M | 12% |
| Whiteside County | 287 | $2.3M | 20% |
| Bureau County | 73 | $244K | 27% |
All 101 Illinois counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Lee County
- Has Lee County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2019-02-08, and claims were filed in 7 of the last 10 years (14 claims from 2010 to 2019). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
- Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
- Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 23% of Lee County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
- Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
- Why might the real number of floods be higher?
- Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.
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About these numbers
Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 17103, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.