Rackett Grange Hall # 318 · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Storms, floods and disasters in Oshkosh
Oshkosh isn’t graded for hazard risk: Oshkosh has 807 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Oshkosh 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
Wildfire
Strong wind
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 Oshkosh flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oshkosh. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Oshkosh isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Garden County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Oshkosh
Disasters that paid out in Oshkosh itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Oshkosh), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Wildfires$16K to the City of Oshkosh for repairs
Garden County has had 9 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Garden County, 2026–2026.
Old photos of Oshkosh after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oshkosh archive →Get ready for what Oshkosh 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.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Oshkosh
Is Oshkosh 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 Garden County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Oshkosh?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oshkosh’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 Oshkosh?
By FEMA money that reached Oshkosh, Wildfires (2026): $16K to the City of Oshkosh for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oshkosh.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oshkosh’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.