Natural hazards · Howe

Howe, OK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Howe comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2009. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Howe?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Howe to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes16%Wildfire12%Heat waves10%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Howe faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Wildfire

12% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 25 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Howe flood?

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

1paid claims since 2009

$2Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20092026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Le Flore County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Howe

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HoweDeclared for Le Flore County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

5 households applied for aid

2019

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

4 households applied for aid

2015

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

4 households applied for aid $32K aid approved

2011

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

$6K to the Town of Howe for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$16K to the Town of Howe for repairs

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