Natural hazards · Onyx

Onyx, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Onyx comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Onyx?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Onyx to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding66%Wildfire21%Earthquakes9%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Onyx faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Wildfire

21% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesDroughtTsunamis

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 Onyx flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Onyx 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 Onyx

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OnyxDeclared for Kern County only

2023

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

11 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid

Kern County has had 37 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. Onyx 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 Onyx’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Onyx. 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.