Oklahoma has logged the highest number of natural disasters of any state in the union since 2000, and is ranked the most disaster-prone state.

According to the site “Carrier Management,” a study by Recoop, a multiperil disaster insurance company, analyzed 20 years of Federal Emergency Management Agency data highlighting severe weather statistics on a state-by-state basis, and Oklahoma residents experienced the greatest volume of natural disasters of any state since 2000.

“A staggering 52 disasters impacted more than 1.17 million Oklahoma residents since 2000, including severe storms, wildfires, tornadoes and ice storms,” stated the report.

Mike Underwood, emergency management director for the city of Tahlequah and Cherokee County, concurred with the study. He said this is especially true with flooding in the northeastern portion of the state, along with tornadic activity.

“Flooding and tornadic activity and severe storms come along with both of those, and what we have utilized in our area is a hazard mitigation plan, which FEMA and Homeland Security require of a municipality, as well as the county,” Underwood said.

A hazard mitigation plan identifies all manmade and natural disasters that could occur within this area. The plan identifies each individual type of disaster, and covers everything from expansive soils, such as earthquakes, or drought and excessive rains.

“A lot of our gravel and dirt roads, when it dries out, can gap open, and when we get a lot of rain, it can move around the soil and cause issues with our roads,” Underwood said.

When damage occurs, county commissioners and city officials alert the state of the damage. A cost estimate is sent and assistance for reimbursement money is requested to take care of the repairs, Underwood said.

Some of the storm events that are most common to Oklahoma are straight-line winds, meaning wind that travels in a straight line and feeds off of weather in the area, in excess of 55 mph. The Tahlequah area and Cherokee County have an average of one or two tornadoes a year.

Underwood spoke of the superstition or legend regarding the ax head supposedly buried around Tahlequah and other areas in the county to protect against tornadoes.

“I’ve heard it since I was a child, multiple stories of the Cherokee elders planting an ax head in certain areas of the county and the city with the idea that as the weather would come up to the ax head, the ax head would split it and and the storm would go around our area and spare everyone,” Underwood said.

As the department of Emergency Management is watching storms move through, sometimes spotters will see a storm doing that, Underwood said.

“They will be moving straight across west of us in other counties and doing all kinds of damage, and it will split or drop off to the south,” Underwood said.

The last big tornadic event started at the Sequoyah County line by Lake Tenkiller and moved north up into Mayes and Adair counties.

What’s next

For those interested in attending the Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting, the next meeting is Jan. 17, 10 a.m., in the conference room of TPWA on Choctaw Street.

Most homeowners have insurance, although there are many who don’t or may be underinsured. Underwood estimated 90% of the homes in Cherokee County are insured for a disaster-type incident. Those that are underinsured could qualify through the state and federal reimbursement efforts for a low- or no-interest loan, but it may be only enough to cover the deductible.

With the Cookson tornado, renters and second home owners around the lake did not qualify. The most damage happened with lost timber, and the reimbursement program paid for expenses in removing tree debris.

“This covered who went out, what they used, even down to a rake and shovel – that is a cost,” Underwood. “The county cannot go on private land to remove debris, but a homeowner can put it out on the roadside in the right-of-way and the county can pick it up.”

The length of time for the tornadic incident was about an hour after it crossed the county line and dissipated.

“The tornado started at the most southern part in Sequoyah County in the Cookson area, and it stayed on the ground for almost 50 miles. It ended up in Mayes and Adair counties and rated F2-F3,” Underwood.

The only public shelter in the city is at the University Center at Northeastern State University, Underwood said.

“Emergency Management is not in the shelter business. We don’t maintain or operate any shelters. There are county shelters at some of the schools and rural fire departments,” Underwood said.

Underwood advises putting as many walls between people and the outside of the house as they can, and a mobile home is absolutely not safe in a storm.

The recommendation from FEMA regarding insurance is to talk with a professional about that protection.

Doyle Buetzer, of Insurance Professionals of Oklahoma, said flood insurance is available from the National Flood Insurance Program. A homeowner must be in a flood plain to qualify.

“Unless a person is close to a river, they are probably not in a flood plain,” Buetzer said.

One thing homeowners should make sure of when purchasing insurance is verifying their insurance covers more than just a flood problem from inside the home, but also covers water entering the home from outside, Buetzer said.

FEMA has information to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters to find local disaster recovery centers, flood maps and fact sheets.

Learn more

Visit these sites to learn more about FEMA’s information on disaster preparedness and how the flood insurance program works: https://www.fema.gov/locations/oklahoma and https://www.floodsmart.gov.