Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Oakley

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
O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107 · Photo: Ntsimp · CC0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Oakley · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Oakley faces more hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakley gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%), then wildfire (40%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 54%Wildfire 40%Earthquakes 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

more than 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C
in Utah · higher than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
54% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 4 declared for Summit County
By hazard

What Oakley 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

54%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Wildfire

40%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Tornadoes Winter storms Hail Landslides top 3% Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Lightning Avalanches top 0% Volcanic activity
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts avalanches at 87% of Oakley’s expected losses. Avalanches 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 Oakley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oakley, and Oakley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 40%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Oakley sits
Oakley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding54%Wildfire40%Earthquakes4%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.9M a year in losses across Oakley: $575K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Oakley’s 1,588 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Samak CDP (93 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 Oakley flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Summit County.
Disasters

The storms Oakley remembers

None of the 4 disasters declared for Summit County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Oakley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in OakleySummit County only

Summit County has had 4 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. 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 Summit County, 2013–2026.

Be ready

Get ready for what Oakley 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 ↗
Wildfire
  • 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.
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 Oakley

Is Oakley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakley has higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (54%) and wildfire (40%). 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 Oakley 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 Summit County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Oakley?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oakley’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Oakley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and Oakley’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oakley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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