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A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Oakfield · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Oakfield than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakfield gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, #40 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 87%Strong wind 4%Ice storms 3%

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 97%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#40 of 758 in New York
Hazard risk
A+#40 of 758
in New York · lower than 97% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
87% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 18 declared for Genesee County
By hazard

What Oakfield 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

87%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Ice storms Earthquakes Hurricanes Tornadoes Hail Winter storms Wildfire Lightning Cold waves Heat waves 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 lightning at 8% of Oakfield’s expected losses. Lightning does little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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 Oakfield’s grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oakfield, and Oakfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Oakfield sits
Oakfield
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #40 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Strong wind4%Everything else9%

The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Oakfield has less expected damage per building than 95% of New York towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $641K a year in losses across Oakfield: $413K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Oakfield’s 3,145 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Elba town (2,164 residents) and Oakfield village (1,812 residents) and Elba village (558 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 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 Oakfield flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oakfield. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Genesee County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oakfield

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

  1. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$36K to the Town of Oakfield for repairs
  2. 2001Snow$8K to the Town of Oakfield for repairs
  3. 1999Snow$2K to the Town of Oakfield for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in OakfieldGenesee County only

Genesee County has had 18 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; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Oakfield archive →
Next door

Oakfield and its neighbors

Oakfield is 2nd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Elba: hazard risk A+Alabama: hazard risk BBarre: hazard risk ABatavia: hazard risk B+ElbaAlabamaBarreBataviaOakfield
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ElbaA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding—
OakfieldA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding0
BarreAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding2
BataviaB+less damage than 71%river and rain flooding13
AlabamaBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding—

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 Oakfield 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 ↗
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 Oakfield

Is Oakfield at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakfield has lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #40 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). 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.

Is Oakfield 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 Genesee County, 1.0% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Oakfield?

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

By FEMA money that reached Oakfield, Severe Storms and Flooding (2006): $36K to the Town of Oakfield for repairs.

Is Oakfield at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Oakfield’s rate for it is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oakfield.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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