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Downtown Commerce OKPhoto: TheWhitePelican · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Commerce · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Commerce faces more hazard damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Commerce gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then ice storms (23%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 62%Ice storms 23%Tornadoes 7%

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

more than 78%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Oklahoma · higher than 78% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
62% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
10
of 26 declared for Ottawa County
By hazard

What Commerce 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

62%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Ice storms

23%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Winter storms top 4% Hurricanes Lightning Wildfire 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 drought at 12% of Commerce’s expected losses. Drought does 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 Commerce’s grade

River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Commerce, and Commerce’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 23%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Commerce sits
Commerce
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding62%Ice storms23%Tornadoes7%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Commerce: $658K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Commerce’s 2,271 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with North Miami town (290 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 Commerce flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Commerce. 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

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

Insurance rates: Ottawa County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
7storm safe rooms built
Disasters

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Commerce

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  2. 2019Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$26K to the City of Commerce for repairs
  3. 2011Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$6K to the City of Commerce for repairs
  4. 2010Severe Winter Storm$2K to the City of Commerce for repairs
  5. 2009Severe Winter Storm$3K to the City of Commerce for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$17K to the City of Commerce for repairs
Show all 10
  1. 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$46K to the City of Commerce for repairs
  2. 2007Severe Winter Storms$239K to the City of Commerce for repairs
  3. 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  4. 2007Severe Winter Storms$48K to the City of Commerce for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CommerceOttawa County only

Ottawa County has had 26 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 Commerce after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Commerce archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Commerce 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 ↗
Ice storms
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
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 Commerce

Is Commerce at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Commerce has higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and ice storms (23%). 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 Commerce 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 Ottawa County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Commerce?

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

By FEMA money that reached Commerce, Severe Winter Storms (2007): $239K to the City of Commerce for repairs.

Is Commerce at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Commerce’s rate for it is higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Commerce.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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