Natural hazards · Oxford

Oxford, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oxford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oxford?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oxford to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Heat waves9%Tornadoes9%Earthquakes8%Cold waves7%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Oxford faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Oxford flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chester County.

Disasters that hit Oxford

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OxfordDeclared for Chester County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

66 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

3 households applied for aid $727 aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

6 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $179 aid approved

2003

Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

Chester County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Oxford

Oxford and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

East Nottinghammostly inland floodingLow

Lower Oxfordmostly inland floodingVery low

Oxfordmostly 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. Oxford covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Oxford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Oxford. 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 Oxford total about $1.1M 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.