Water damage restoration in Johnston County, Oklahoma
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Tishomingo, Mannsville and Ravia. Start the steps below while you wait.
Sewage or toilet backup: what to do in your Johnston County home right now
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Johnston County gets about 12.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Treat it as contaminated (Category 3) water.
Stop using every drain, toilet, and appliance that drains.
Don't try to clean carpet, padding, or upholstery that sewage touched.
Roof leak or storm: what to do in your Johnston County home right now
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 47 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
With 4,708 homes and around 10,278 residents, Johnston County is 643 square miles of southeast Oklahoma. Besides Tishomingo, the county seat, the biggest communities are Mannsville, Ravia and Wapanucka. The county's median home was built in 1983.
The three factors where Johnston County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Weather
Johnston County is milder than most of Oklahoma, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 7 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 50 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 68th of 77 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -6°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from December to January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 15 and the last spring freeze around Mar 13.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Oklahoma. The county gets about 45.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 12.4 days of an inch or more (24th of 77). Those downpours cluster in March, May and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 8.08 inches on September 22, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 10.18 inches (through September 23, 2018).
About 47 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Freezing nights per month, 2015–2024 average
Days with 1 inch or more of rain per month, 2015–2024 average
Housing
What Johnston County's homes are made of
Oklahoma's 77 counties range widely in housing age; Johnston ranks 58th, with 45% of its homes built before 1980.
27% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Oklahoma. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 28% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 19% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Homes by year built
Before 19405%
1940–195913%
1960–197927%
1980–199928%
2000 or later27%
Owner-occupied
72%
Oklahoma median 73%
Single-family
75%
of all homes
Median home value
$117k
Oklahoma median $146k
Beyond water
Mold and fire damage in Johnston County
Mold
Johnston County averages 114 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Main heating fuel in Johnston County's occupied homes: 12% utility gas, 70% electric, 13% propane and 3% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Oklahoma county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Johnston County water damage FAQ
Which towns in Johnston County does this cover?
Calls are routed to restoration companies that serve all of Johnston County, including Tishomingo, Mannsville, Ravia, Wapanucka, Coleman and Mill Creek, plus the townships and rural areas around them. If the first company can't reach you quickly, ask to be connected with another.
How often do pipes freeze in Johnston County?
Pipe-freeze weather, 20°F or colder, comes about 7 nights a year in Johnston County, from December to January. Pipes along outside walls and in crawl spaces go first.
What causes the most water damage in Johnston County?
Based on the county's housing and weather data, the biggest local factors are muggy, mold-friendly summers, mobile home freeze-ups and heavy rain and basements. Appliance supply lines and water heaters cause leaks everywhere.
Will my insurance cover water damage in Johnston County?
Pipe bursts and appliance failures are typically covered; slow leaks, seepage and floodwater typically aren't. Ask your agent about water backup coverage, given 12.4 heavy-rain days a year here.
How fast does mold start in a Johnston County home?
The EPA advises drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours. In May, the county's wettest month, and on the 114 muggy summer nights a year when lows stay at 65°F or above, basements dry slowly on their own, so start fans and dehumidifiers the same day.
Water won't wait. Neither should you.
Peak risk months in Johnston County: freezing from December to January, heavy rain in March, May and October.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology