Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Charter Oak
Charter Oak isn’t graded for hazard risk: Charter Oak has 580 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Charter Oak faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Charter Oak flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Charter Oak. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Charter Oak isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Crawford County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Charter Oak
Disasters that paid out in Charter Oak itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Charter Oak), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$2K to the City of Charter Oak for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$30K to the City of Charter Oak for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes4 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$2K to the City of Charter Oak for repairs
- 2007Snow$2K to the City of Charter Oak for repairs
Crawford County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Charter Oak after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Charter Oak archive →Get ready for what Charter Oak faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Charter Oak
Is Charter Oak in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Crawford County, 0.0% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Charter Oak?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Charter Oak’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Charter Oak?
By FEMA money that reached Charter Oak, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2008): 3 households applied for aid, $0 approved, and $30K to the City of Charter Oak for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Charter Oak.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Charter Oak’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.