Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Stillwater
Stillwater isn’t graded for hazard risk: Stillwater has 169 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 32 claims here since 1979.
What Stillwater 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
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 Stillwater flood? Sometimes: 32 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Stillwater, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee10 claims · $384K
Stillwater isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Stillwater
Disasters that paid out in Stillwater itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Stillwater), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee52 households applied for aid$125K aid approved10 flood claims paid for it, $384K
- 2011Hurricane Irene1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides30 households applied for aid$35K aid approved8 flood claims paid that year
Columbia County has had 16 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 Stillwater after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Stillwater archive →Get ready for what Stillwater 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.
- 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 Stillwater
Does Stillwater flood?
Flood insurance has paid 32 claims in Stillwater since 1979, $1.1M in all. 8 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (10).
Is Stillwater 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 Columbia County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Stillwater?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Stillwater’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 Stillwater?
By FEMA money that reached Stillwater, Tropical Storm Lee (2011): 52 households applied for aid, $125K approved. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 10 paid, $384K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stillwater.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Stillwater’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.