Natural hazards · Wooster

Wooster, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wooster comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2011. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wooster?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wooster to be higher than in 10% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding58%Tornadoes14%Hail7%Strong wind6%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Wooster faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% 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 Wooster flood?

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

8paid claims since 2011

$1.4Mpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Late winter storms: 4 claims, $214K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wayne County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

25flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Wooster

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WoosterDeclared for Wayne County only

2004

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$55K to the City of Wooster for repairs

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

Around Wooster

Wooster and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Franklinmostly inland floodingVery low

Woostermostly inland floodingVery low

Waynemostly inland floodingVery low

Woostermostly 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. Wooster covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Wooster’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wooster. 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 Wooster total about $4.2M 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.