Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Alexander County, Illinois Hazard Profiles
Draft. Built from public National Weather Service storm records (NOAA Storm Events, 1981 to June 2026). Not an adopted plan and not reviewed by FEMA.
Alexander County's plan, the Alexander County 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired October 13, 2025 in FEMA's plan-status data, with no update recorded as in progress on October 3, 2026. This chapter drafts the hazard-profile section of the update from 595 storm reports for the county, every one traceable to a NOAA event ID.
At a glance
7 hazards appear in the federal storm record for Alexander County. Flooding is the most frequent, and also the source of the most recorded deaths and damage.
Hazard
Days with reports, 1996–2025
Years with at least one
Deaths*
Injuries*
Property damage entered*
Thunderstorm wind
62
29/30
0
1
$1.3M
Hail
35
19/30
0
0
$0
Tornado
7
6/30
0
1
$1.3M
Flooding
220
29/30
0
0
$17.9M
Winter storms
99
29/30
0
1
$11.1M
Lightning
1
1/30
0
0
$10K
High wind (no storm)
99
24/30
0
0
$4.7M
* All years on record (tornado, wind and hail from the 1980s; other hazards from 1996). Dollars are as entered, not adjusted for inflation.
How often, year by year
Days with at least one report, 1996 to 2025. Each panel has its own scale. Hover a bar for the year.
Thunderstorm wind62 days · 29 of 30 yearsHail35 days · 19 of 30 yearsFlooding220 days · 29 of 30 yearsTornado7 days · 6 of 30 yearsWinter storms99 days · 29 of 30 yearsLightning1 day · 1 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
Lightning
High wind (no storm)
1996
4
0
0
7
2
0
0
1997
4
2
0
5
2
0
1
1998
1
1
0
10
3
0
0
1999
2
0
1
8
3
0
1
2000
1
4
0
0
2
0
1
2001
3
1
0
9
2
0
0
2002
2
1
0
12
2
0
1
2003
5
4
2
7
4
0
0
2004
2
0
0
9
2
0
0
2005
1
2
0
5
1
0
0
2006
5
4
0
1
2
0
4
2007
2
1
0
1
1
0
1
2008
1
2
0
15
6
0
5
2009
2
0
0
11
2
0
6
2010
1
0
0
13
5
1
2
2011
5
0
1
14
5
0
2
2012
2
2
0
2
3
0
1
2013
2
0
1
8
3
0
1
2014
2
0
0
2
4
0
5
2015
1
1
1
12
7
0
3
2016
2
1
0
6
5
0
3
2017
1
2
0
6
2
0
8
2018
2
2
0
9
6
0
9
2019
2
1
0
16
5
0
6
2020
0
1
0
12
0
0
7
2021
2
0
0
3
4
0
7
2022
1
0
0
3
7
0
6
2023
1
1
0
5
3
0
8
2024
2
0
0
7
2
0
6
2025
1
2
1
2
4
0
5
When in the year
Days with reports by month, 1996 to 2025. Darker means more days.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Thunderstorm wind
5
3
4
8
10
4
13
5
2
7
1
Hail
1
2
5
10
10
1
4
2
Tornado
1
1
2
1
1
1
Flooding
22
26
30
32
39
25
16
6
1
4
4
15
Winter storms
38
32
6
1
4
18
Lightning
1
High wind (no storm)
10
17
21
21
4
1
1
2
8
14
Tornado tracks, 1984–2025
10 tornadoes. Lines run from touchdown to lift within the county; dots are tornadoes recorded at a single point. Hover a track for its date and rating.
F0/EF0F1/EF1F2/EF2F3 or strongerF5Unrated
County outline from the Census Bureau (simplified); community labels sit at the average location of reports naming them.
Hazard profiles
Each profile answers FEMA's questions for hazard identification: what it is, where, how bad (extent), what has happened, and how likely it is to happen again.
Tornado
Description
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground, rated after the fact on the Fujita scale (through January 2007) or the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 to EF5, by the damage it leaves.
Location
Countywide; tornado reports name 9 communities, most often Thebes, Unity and Miller City.
Extent
The strongest on record is the EF2 of April 23, 2011 near Cairo. Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 3 separate days.
Previous occurrences
10 tornadoes on 8 days from 1984 to 2025. Weather Service survey, March 30, 2025: "An EF-1 tornado began near the Mississippi River a mile northwest of Fayville, and moved east northeast. The tornado uprooted or snapped the trunks of dozens of trees and toppled an irrigation pivot. It moved into Pulaski County just northeast of Sandusky. The estimated peak …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 6 of 30 years (20%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $1.3M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (8 of 10 reports carry a dollar figure).
Severe thunderstorm wind
Description
Straight-line winds from thunderstorms, including downbursts, measured or estimated at 58 mph (50 knots) or more.
Location
Countywide; reports name 17 communities, most often Cairo, Olive Branch and Tamms.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 100 knots (115 mph), estimated near Cairo on February 18, 2000. 7 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
76 reports on 72 days since 1981. February 18, 2000: "A short-lived but very intense thunderstorm microburst caused about a half million dollars damage in the center of Cairo. The affected area, which was 5 city blocks wide and about a mile long, was primarily residential. A total of 52 …"
Probability
Reports in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025; about 2.1 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $1.3M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (45 of 76 reports carry a dollar figure).
Hail
Description
Ice stones from thunderstorm updrafts; reported at 3/4 inch and larger in this record.
Location
Countywide; reports name 10 communities, most often Cairo, Olive Branch and Tamms.
Extent
Largest: 2.5 inches near East Cape Girardeau on March 30, 2005. 1 report of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
50 reports on 44 days since 1989.
Probability
Reports in 19 of 30 years (63%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 50 reports carry a dollar figure).
Flooding (river, flash and heavy rain)
Description
River flooding, and flash flooding when heavy rain overwhelms streets, ditches and small streams.
Location
Countywide; reports name 16 communities, most often Cairo, Thebes and Urbandale.
Extent
The costliest entry is January 1, 2016, at $4.5M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
252 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. April 30, 2026: "Minor flooding began at the very end of April along the Mississippi River across from Cape Girardeau, with limited impacts to low-lying areas. Flooding continued into May."
Probability
Reports in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $17.9M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (52 of 252 reports carry a dollar figure).
Winter storms and ice
Description
Heavy snow, blizzards, ice storms, sleet and lesser winter weather, recorded by forecast zone rather than by point.
Location
Countywide (forecast-zone records).
Extent
Ice storms on 5 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences
101 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 56 winter weather, 27 winter storm, 13 heavy snow, 5 ice storm.
Probability
Events in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $11.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (5 of 101 reports carry a dollar figure).
Lightning
Description
Cloud-to-ground strikes that injure people, start fires or damage property. Only damaging strikes are recorded.
Location
Countywide; reports name 1 communities, most often Cairo.
Extent
0 deaths and 0 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
1 damaging strikes since 2010.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 1 of 30 years (3%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $10K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 1 report carries a dollar figure).
High wind (not from thunderstorms)
Description
Strong winds from large storm systems rather than thunderstorms, recorded by forecast zone.
Location
Countywide (forecast-zone records).
Extent
Highest: 61 knots (70 mph).
Previous occurrences
100 zone events since 1997.
Probability
Events in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $4.7M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (96 of 100 reports carry a dollar figure).
Not covered by this record
Extreme heat, extreme cold, drought, earthquake and dam failure are not in the storm archive this chapter draws on. The full chapter profiles them from NOAA climate records, the U.S. Drought Monitor, USGS shaking maps and the state dam inventory, and the planning team decides which belong in the plan.
Previous occurrences by community
FEMA asks for hazard history for each participating jurisdiction. These are the communities the Weather Service names most often as the nearest place to a report.
Nearest community named in the report
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Flooding
Tornado
Lightning
All
Cairo
22
10
89
1
1
123
Thebes
4
3
53
1
61
Olive Branch
13
9
3
25
Tamms
5
8
3
1
17
East Cape Girardeau
3
6
5
14
Urbandale
1
3
6
10
Mc Clure
3
3
3
9
Thebes Jct
1
4
1
6
Fayville
2
2
1
5
Cache
1
3
4
Miller City
3
1
4
Sandusky
2
1
3
Elco
1
1
1
3
Willard
1
1
2
Clank
1
1
2
Gale
1
1
2
Future City
2
2
Mcclure
1
1
What this draft covers, and what the full update adds
Covered here
Type, location and extent of each recorded hazard (FEMA review element B1).
Previous occurrences and probability of future events, countywide and by community (element B2).
Added in the full update
Vulnerability and impacts on people, buildings and critical facilities from county parcel and building data (element B3).
National Flood Insurance Program repetitive-loss properties from FEMA (element B4).
Planning-team meetings, public input, capability review, the mitigation strategy and adoption.
Data notes
Before 1996 the storm database records only tornado, thunderstorm wind and hail, so every rate on this page uses 1996–2025.
Recent reports rarely carry a damage estimate: 25 of 73 wind, hail, tornado and flood reports since 2019 do. A missing dollar figure means "not estimated," not "no damage."
Reports follow people. Towns with more spotters and roads show more reports.
Winter storm, high wind and some flood events are recorded by forecast zone, not by point.