Natural hazards · Oberlin

Oberlin, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oberlin comes from hail, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Oberlin?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oberlin to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail36%Inland flooding20%Strong wind15%Drought14%Tornadoes8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Oberlin faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hail

36% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 88 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Oberlin flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oberlin.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Oberlin isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Decatur County.

Disasters that hit Oberlin

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Oberlin itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Oberlin.

Brought FEMA money into OberlinDeclared for Decatur County only

2017

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$114K to the City of Oberlin for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$4K to the City of Oberlin for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Oberlin for repairs

Decatur County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Oberlin

Oberlin and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Oberlinmostly hailModerate

Libertymostly hailModerate

Centermostly hailModerate

Oberlinmostly hailModerate

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Oberlin is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Oberlin’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Oberlin. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.