Oswayo’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oswayo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Oswayo’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Oswayo flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oswayo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Oswayo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Potter County.How exposed is Oswayo?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 2,018 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Oswayo is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Oswayo faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Strong wind
Cold waves
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Oswayo
Disasters that paid out in Oswayo itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Oswayo) and its biggest flood years.
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 household applied for aid
Potter County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Oswayo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oswayo archive →Get ready for what Oswayo actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Oswayo and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswayo | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Oswayo Township | High | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in July–September
The month each of Potter County’s 11 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Oswayo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Oswayo.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oswayo.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.