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Town Center, Oakham MAPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Oakham · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Oakham faces less hazard damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakham gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%), then hurricanes (23%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2005.

River and rain flooding 66%Hurricanes 23%Tornadoes 4%

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

less than 81%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in Massachusetts · lower than 81% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
66% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2005 · $5K
Disasters paid out here
10
of 27 declared for Worcester County
By hazard

What Oakham 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

66%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

23%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Earthquakes Strong wind Landslides top 5% Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 8% of Oakham’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Oakham’s grade

River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oakham, and Oakham’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Oakham sits
Oakham
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding66%Hurricanes23%Tornadoes4%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $312K a year in losses across Oakham: $257K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Oakham’s 1,851 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’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 Oakham flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2005

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Oakham, from FEMA’s records: 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 69% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2005: 1 claim2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2005
20052026
1
paid claims since 2005
$5K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$5K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Worcester County.
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oakham

Disasters that paid out in Oakham itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Oakham), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$14K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  2. 2013Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding$14K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  3. 2011Severe Storm and Snowstorm$48K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  4. 2011Hurricane Irene$5K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$273K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  6. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$5K aid approved$16K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$10K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$6K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$7K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
  4. 2001Snow$8K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in OakhamWorcester County only

Worcester County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Oakham archive →
Next door

Oakham and its neighbors

Oakham is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Rutland: hazard risk ABarre: hazard risk BSpencer: hazard risk A−RutlandBarreSpencerOakham
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RutlandAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding—
OakhamA−less damage than 81%river and rain flooding1
SpencerA−less damage than 78%river and rain flooding—
BarreBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding2

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 Oakham 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
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 Oakham

Is Oakham at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakham has lower expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and hurricanes (23%). 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 Oakham flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Oakham since 2005, $5K in all, or 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 69% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Oakham 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 Worcester County, 65% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Oakham?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oakham’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 Oakham?

By FEMA money that reached Oakham, Severe Winter Storm and Flooding (2008): $273K to the Town of Oakham for repairs.

Is Oakham at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Oakham’s rate for it is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oakham.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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