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Rickenbaugh HouseRickenbaugh House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Oil Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Oil Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oil Township gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns, #588 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2009.

River and rain flooding 79%Tornadoes 8%Earthquakes 5%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 86%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#588 of 593 in Indiana
Hazard risk
D#588 of 593
in Indiana · higher than 86% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
79% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 2009 · $40K
Flood claims per home
5 per 1,000
more than 59% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Oil Township 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

79%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind top 5% Hail Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Hurricanes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves top 4% Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts tornadoes at 18% of Oil Township’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (8.4%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Oil Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oil Township, and Oil Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 8%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Oil Township sits
Oil Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D #588 of 593 in Indiana; higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Oil Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding79%Tornadoes8%Earthquakes5%Everything else7%

The typical Indiana town has lower expected damage than 60% of U.S. towns; within the state, Oil Township has more expected damage per building than 99% of Indiana towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.5M a year in losses across Oil Township: $982K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Oil Township’s 2,545 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Clark township (1,063 residents) and Leopold township (717 residents) and Leopold CDP (40 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Oil Township flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2009

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Oil Township, from FEMA’s records: 4.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2009: 1 claim2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20092018
20092026
3
paid claims since 2009
$40K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$13K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Oil Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Perry County.
Disasters

The storms Oil Township remembers

None of the 20 disasters declared for Perry County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Oil Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20182 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Perry County
  2. 20091 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storm, declared for Perry County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Oil TownshipPerry County only

Perry 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Oil Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Oil Township archive →
Next door

Oil Township and its neighbors

Oil Township is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Clark Township: hazard risk DLeopold Township: not gradedUnion Township: not gradedBoone Township: not gradedUnion Township: not gradedJohnson Township: not gradedClark TownshipLeopold TownshipUnion TownshipBoone TownshipUnion TownshipJohnson TownshipOil Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Clark TownshipDmore damage than 86%river and rain flooding—
Oil TownshipDmore damage than 86%river and rain flooding3
Leopold Township—737 residents; we grade 1,000+
Union Township—517 residents; we grade 1,000+
Boone Township—103 residents; we grade 1,000+
Union Township—324 residents; we grade 1,000+
Johnson Township—255 residents; we grade 1,000+

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Oil Township faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Oil Township

Is Oil Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oil Township has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #588 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and tornadoes (8%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Oil Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Oil Township since 2009, $40K in all, or 4.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Oil Township 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 Perry County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Oil Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oil Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Oil Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Oil Township’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oil Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oil Township’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.