Natural hazards · Oakland

Oakland, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oakland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1978. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oakland?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oakland to be higher than in 2% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding61%Drought8%Cold waves7%Everything else24%

By hazard

What Oakland faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Oakland flood?

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

4paid claims since 1978

$40Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Garrett County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Oakland

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OaklandDeclared for Garrett County only

2016

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$15K to the Town of Oakland for repairs

2012

Hurricane Sandy

$87K to the Town of Oakland for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$10K to the Town of Oakland for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2003

Snow

$4K to the Town of Oakland for repairs

Garrett County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

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. Oakland 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 Oakland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Oakland. 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.