Natural hazards · Oakhurst

Oakhurst, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oakhurst comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1982. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oakhurst?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oakhurst to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding52%Wildfire44%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Oakhurst faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

44% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Oakhurst flood?

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

11paid claims since 1982

$160Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

California Atmospheric River: 1 claim, $22K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Madera County.

Disasters that hit Oakhurst

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OakhurstDeclared for Madera County only

2023

Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

212 households applied for aid $978K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

23 households applied for aid

Madera County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Oakhurst covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Oakhurst’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Oakhurst. 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 Oakhurst total about $6.7M 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.