Natural hazards · Rootstown

Rootstown, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rootstown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 2003. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rootstown?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rootstown to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding66%Tornadoes10%Hail6%Strong wind5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Rootstown faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Rootstown flood?

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

9paid claims since 2003

$67Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20032026

Biggest named events

Late winter storms: 1 claim, $13K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Portage County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Rootstown

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RootstownDeclared for Portage County only

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2003

Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds

8 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

Portage County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

Around Rootstown

Rootstown and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rootstownmostly inland floodingVery low

Charlestownmostly inland floodingVery low

Ravennamostly inland floodingVery low

Randolphmostly inland floodingVery low

Brimfieldmostly inland floodingVery low

Edinburgmostly 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. Rootstown covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rootstown’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Rootstown. 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 Rootstown total about $1.4M 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.