Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Oakwood

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Hawthornhillhouse8Photo: Zeist85 · Public domain
AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Oakwood · FEMA

FEMA puts Oakwood’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakwood gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, #315 of 993 in Ohio. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 82%Tornadoes 4%Hail 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 88%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#315 of 993 in Ohio
Hazard risk
A#315 of 993
in Ohio · lower than 88% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 10 declared for Montgomery County
By hazard

What Oakwood 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

82%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hurricanes Heat waves top 4% Lightning Wildfire Cold 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 cold waves at 10% of Oakwood’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 Oakwood’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oakwood, and Oakwood’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Oakwood sits
Oakwood
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A #315 of 993 in Ohio; lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Oakwood’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Tornadoes4%Hail4%Everything else10%

The typical Ohio town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Oakwood has less expected damage per building than 68% of Ohio towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Oakwood: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Oakwood covers 2 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Oakwood flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oakwood

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

  1. 2008Severe Wind Storm Associated with Tropical Depression Ike$312K to the City of Oakwood for repairs
  2. 2004Snow$22K to the City of Oakwood for repairs
  3. 2003Severe Winter Storm and Record/near Record Snow$18K to the City of Oakwood for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in OakwoodMontgomery County only

Montgomery County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Oakwood archive →
Next door

Oakwood and its neighbors

Oakwood is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Kettering: hazard risk ADayton: hazard risk BKetteringDaytonOakwood
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
KetteringAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding26
OakwoodAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding0
DaytonBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding24

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 Oakwood 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 Oakwood

Is Oakwood at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakwood has lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #315 of 993 in Ohio. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Oakwood 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 Montgomery County, 25% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Oakwood?

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

By FEMA money that reached Oakwood, Severe Wind Storm Associated with Tropical Depression Ike (2008): $312K to the City of Oakwood for repairs.

Is Oakwood at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Oakwood’s rate for it is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oakwood.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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