Editing Petersburg, Illinois (section)

==Natural disasters==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2010}}
Petersburg was damaged by an earthquake originating in the [[New Madrid Fault]] on July 18, 1909. The earthquake was felt over most of central Illinois, but Petersburg suffered the most widespread damage.

The portions of Petersburg located below the bluffs suffered major flood damage during the intense flood season of 1993. The city and Menard County have since undertaken a campaign to buy and eliminate the low-income housing located in the most flood-prone areas, creating a small series of parks near the Sangamon River.

Shortly after 12:30pm on [[2010 New Year's Eve tornado outbreak|December 31, 2010]], an estimated 40 homes were damaged by a tornado, with 22 of the homes listed as uninhabitable by local officials. The tornado was caused by springlike weather during which the temperature was in the 60s across central Illinois.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.sj-r.com/carousel/x1458583623/Possible-tornado-damages-homes-near-Lake-Petersburg| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914144121/http://www.sj-r.com/carousel/x1458583623/Possible-tornado-damages-homes-near-Lake-Petersburg| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 14, 2012| title=Possible tornado damages homes near Lake Petersburg| publisher=sjr| access-date=March 13, 2023}} </ref>