TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
OakhamGood morning
Natural hazards · Oakham

Oakham, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oakham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2005. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Oakham?

22
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oakham to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding54%Hurricanes21%Cold waves8%Everything else17%
By hazard

What Oakham faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

21% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Oakham flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Oakham, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2005
$5Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20052026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Oakham isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Worcester County.
Disasters that hit Oakham

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OakhamDeclared for Worcester County only
2015

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$14K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$14K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$48K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

$5K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$273K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $5K aid approved $16K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$10K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2003

Snow

$13K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
2001

Snow

$8K to the Town of Oakham for repairs
Worcester County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Around Oakham

Oakham and the towns around it

Rutland: Very low, mostly inland floodingBarre: Low, mostly inland floodingSpencer: Low, mostly inland floodingPaxton: Very low, mostly inland floodingHolden: Very low, mostly inland floodingPrinceton: Very low, mostly inland floodingHubbardston: Very low, mostly inland floodingCharlton: Low, mostly inland floodingOakham: Low, mostly inland flooding OakhamRutlandBarreSpencer
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Barremostly inland floodingLow
Spencermostly inland floodingLow
Oakhammostly inland floodingLow
Rutlandmostly inland floodingVery low
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. Oakham covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Oakham’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Oakham. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Oakham total about $312K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Oakham, MAWorcester CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Oakham is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map