Natural hazards · Old River

Old River, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Old River comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Old River?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Old River to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes55%Inland flooding34%Heat waves9%Everything else1%

By hazard

What Old River faces

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

Earthquakes

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWildfireStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Old River flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kern County.

Disasters that hit Old River

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Kern County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Old River itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Old RiverDeclared for Kern County only

Kern County has had 37 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

Around Old River

Old River and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Old Rivermostly earthquakesVery high

Bakersfieldmostly earthquakesHigh

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. Old River is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Old River’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Old River. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.