Natural hazards · Four Oaks

Four Oaks, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Four Oaks comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2016. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Four Oaks?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Four Oaks to be higher than in 14% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes22%Hurricanes10%Heat waves6%Everything else21%

By hazard

What Four Oaks faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Four Oaks flood?

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

6paid claims since 2016

$72Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

20162026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Matthew: 5 claims, $12K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Johnston County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

2homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Four Oaks

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Four OaksDeclared for Johnston County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

76 households applied for aid $27K aid approved $25K to the Town of Four Oaks for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

202 households applied for aid $302K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

142 households applied for aid $219K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

9 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Johnston County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

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