Natural hazards · Custer

Custer, OK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Custer comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is high 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 Custer?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Custer to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and drought.

Tornadoes23%Drought22%Inland flooding22%Cold waves10%Ice storms7%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Custer faces

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

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

22% of expected damage

Recorded about 91 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Custer flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Custer County.

Disasters that hit Custer

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CusterDeclared for Custer County only

2024

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2002

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$16K to the Town of Custer for repairs

Custer County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice storms.

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. Custer 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 Custer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Custer. 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.