Holloway's Station · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Red Oak
Red Oak isn’t graded for hazard risk: Red Oak has 539 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Red Oak 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
Ice storms
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 Red Oak flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Red Oak. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Red Oak isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Latimer County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Red Oak
Disasters that paid out in Red Oak itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Red Oak), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms$61K to the Town of Red Oak for repairs
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$39K to the Town of Red Oak for repairs
Latimer County has had 24 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 Red Oak after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Red Oak archive →Get ready for what Red Oak 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.
- 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.
- 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 Red Oak
Is Red Oak 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 Latimer County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Red Oak?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Red Oak’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 Red Oak?
By FEMA money that reached Red Oak, Severe Winter Storms (2021): $61K to the Town of Red Oak for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Red Oak.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Red Oak’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.