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The individual home owner who has never witnessed or been victim to the damage of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and micro bursts is too often blissfully unaware of the danger. Consider this: according to the IL Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan 56 (of 102) counties in Illinois are rated as "severe" for severe storm hazards and 30 as "high" for tornadoes; these counties include all areas of the state so being "near the lake" or "near the river" is not a reliable measure of safety.
WHEN THE ROOF BLOWS OFF,
YOU MAY NOT BE PART OF A NATIONALLY DECLARED DISASTER...
BUT LOSING YOUR ROOF SURE SEEMS DISASTER ENOUGH.
Did you know there is something you can do about it now?
The IL Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (INMH Plan) includes a chart of IL counties with natural hazard type and hazard level ratings which is worthwhile viewing for all residents (INHM Plan Section III - 13, page 30 of the pdf).
 Illinois is within the area termed "Tornado Alley" but tornados are actually somewhat uncommon (31 per year on average) in most of the state; this, however, does not mean residents are safe from significant damage to house and home by wind nor that the real danger of tornadoes should be overlooked. The INMH Plan map pages include a graphic of the elevated risk counties immediately followed by the ratings by county chart (Sec III - 28 - 31, page 45 - 48 of the pdf). When tornadoes come they are—in the words of the NOAA—"Nature's Most Violent Storms" and many counties have experienced devastation that overrides infrequency. New construction, city planners and new public spaces should absolutely consider the tornado in the plan. Still it is tempting for both the public and the press to focus upon tornado sightings and touchdowns because the power is so tremendous and the damage can be so great. But the fact for Illinois residents is that many counties will suffer severe wind damage each year from the wind preceding severe thunderstorms.
The greater threat, if one considers the probability of damage to your house, is from the severe thunderstorm. The majority of Illinois counties are rated as severely at risk for wind damage. Again, the INMH Plan includes a chart of those counties. (Sec III - 27, page 44 of the pdf) Each year there is are millions of dollars lost to localized disasters but few homeowners and too many towns are unaware  of cost effective mitigation techniques or grants available form FEMA / IEMA. If a tornado with winds in excess of 200 mph hits your town, extreme damage will occur; very much of the residential and small business damage by most of the events less than record winds can be lessened or eliminated by advance planning, structural modifications and building considerations. If you are building, incorporate the building standards from new techniques and materials. If you are one of the many frame house owners and happen to be re-roofing in the near future, seize that opportunity to incorporate roof tie-downs at a very low incremental cost. If you do not have remodeling plans, consider where you live and balance the cost of retrofit against that risk. Please keep in mind that simple frame mitigation techniques will always be much cheaper than being the house on your block that lost half a roof and all the siding. If you are in a trailer, it is absolutely imperative that proper tie-down are used. In all these cases, check with the resources available at FEMA, IEMA and the rest of our partners.
And don't forget to check local code and ask your insurance agent what kind of discounted rates are available when you exceed local code. The insurance industry is backing many governmental and private initiatives in hazard mitigation. It makes sense for them and us. In addition to the many resource links you will find on other pages, here are a couple for quick general reference:
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