Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Oberon
Oberon isn’t graded for hazard risk: Oberon has 39 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Oberon faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Strong wind
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Ice storms
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 Oberon flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oberon. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Oberon isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Benson County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oberon
Disasters that paid out in Oberon itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Oberon), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Flooding9 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2010Flooding$21K to the City of Oberon for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding10 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
- 2001Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$792 to the City of Oberon for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation$5K to the City of Oberon for repairs
- 1999Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor$6K to the City of Oberon for repairs
Its 2 counties have had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Oberon after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oberon archive →Get ready for what Oberon faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Oberon
Is Oberon 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 Benson County, 100% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Oberon?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oberon’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 Oberon?
By FEMA money that reached Oberon, Flooding (2010): $21K to the City of Oberon for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oberon.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oberon’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.