Natural hazards · Willow Oak

Willow Oak, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Willow Oak comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1997. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Willow Oak?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Willow Oak to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes37%Inland flooding36%Strong wind10%Tornadoes5%Lightning5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Willow Oak faces

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

Hurricanes

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslides

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsWinter weatherDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Willow Oak flood?

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

8paid claims since 1997

$374Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Milton: 3 claims, $259K
Hurricane Irma: 2 claims, $103K
Hurricane Georges (Panhandle): 1 claim, $6K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Polk County.

Disasters that hit Willow Oak

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Willow OakDeclared for Polk County only

2017

Hurricane Irma

1 household applied for aid $342 aid approved

Polk County has had 34 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

Around Willow Oak

Willow Oak and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Willow Oakmostly hurricanesHigh

Medullamostly hurricanesHigh

Fuller Heightsmostly hurricanesHigh

Mulberrymostly hurricanesHigh

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. Willow Oak covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Willow Oak’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Willow Oak. 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 Willow Oak total about $1.3M 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.