Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Oconto
Oconto isn’t graded for hazard risk: Oconto has 167 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Oconto 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
Wildfire
Hail
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 Oconto flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oconto. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Oconto isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Custer County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Oconto
Disasters that paid out in Oconto itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Oconto), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$984 aid approved
Custer County has had 16 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 Oconto after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oconto archive →Get ready for what Oconto 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.
- 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Oconto
Is Oconto 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 Custer County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Oconto?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oconto’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 Oconto?
By FEMA money that reached Oconto, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2008): 1 households applied for aid, $984 approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oconto.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oconto’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.