MISSOURI, IOWA & ILLINOIS · FLOOD-RISK REGION
Inland river-flood country, where FEMA more often buys a house out than lifts it up.
Missouri alone has recorded 51,227 NFIP claims and $963.1M in payouts since 1978. Missouri, Iowa and Illinois have no statewide general-contractor license (licensing is city or county level; Iowa requires contractor registration with its Division of Labor), so BBB accreditation and IASM structural-mover membership are the trust anchors here rather than a state license number.
The Great Flood of 1993 damaged more than 225 properties in Arnold alone, where the Meramec meets the Mississippi. FEMA approved $4.3M in Hazard Mitigation Grant funding for a voluntary buyout at a 67% federal share, and the payoff was measurable: of 3,146 properties bought out across 13 Mississippi River communities, 1,623 would have flooded again in 2008. In this valley, buyout and elevation compete as the mitigation answer, and a contractor here is often working alongside a community buyout program.
The 2008 Cedar River flood inundated central Cedar Rapids and drove one of the largest buyout and elevation programs in the Midwest. Davenport, which famously has no floodwall, floods from the Mississippi repeatedly.
The Illinois and Mississippi confluence towns flood on a recurring cycle; several have relocated or elevated whole blocks. Elevation on piers and interior floodproofing are the common retrofits for the homes that stay.
Each cleared at least two independent sources. No paid placement.
Flood-risk figures are drawn from FEMA’s National Risk Index and NFIP datasets and reflect the most recent data we could source; verify current status at fema.gov before relying on a number for a financial or legal decision.