Fox Hotel · Photo: TulGuy · CC BY 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Skiatook than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Skiatook gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, #89 of 131 in Oklahoma. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%). Flood insurance has paid 112 claims here since 1985.
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
What stands out about Skiatook’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Skiatook 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
Tornadoes
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.
What’s behind Skiatook’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Skiatook, and Skiatook’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 7%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
C #89 of 131 in Oklahoma; higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Skiatook’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Oklahoma town has higher expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Skiatook has more expected damage per building than 68% of Oklahoma towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $4.0M a year in losses across Skiatook: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Skiatook flood? Yes: 112 flood claims since 1985
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Skiatook, from FEMA’s records: 31.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Skiatook isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tulsa County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Skiatook
Disasters that paid out in Skiatook itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Skiatook), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding8 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
- 2021Severe Winter Storms24 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding164 households applied for aid$581K aid approved$15K to the City of Skiatook for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$7K to the City of Skiatook for repairs
- 2007Severe Winter Storms$892K to the City of Skiatook for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2005Extreme Wildfire Threat$3K to the City of Skiatook for repairs
Show all 7
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$42K to the City of Skiatook for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Tulsa County has had 29 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Tulsa County, 2006–2011.
Old photos of Skiatook after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Skiatook archive →Skiatook and its neighbors
Skiatook has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skiatook | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 112 |
| Sperry | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
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.
Get ready for what Skiatook 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.
- 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.
- 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 Skiatook
Is Skiatook at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Skiatook has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #89 of 131 in Oklahoma. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and wildfire (7%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Skiatook flood?
Flood insurance has paid 112 claims in Skiatook since 1985, $1.1M in all, or 31.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Skiatook 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 Tulsa County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Skiatook?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Skiatook’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 Skiatook?
By FEMA money that reached Skiatook, Severe Winter Storms (2007): $892K to the City of Skiatook for repairs.
Is Skiatook at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Skiatook’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Skiatook.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Skiatook’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.