Natural hazards · White Oak

White Oak, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in White Oak comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is White Oak?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in White Oak to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes53%Inland flooding23%Strong wind9%Tornadoes6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What White Oak faces

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

Hurricanes

53% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 White Oak flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. White 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: Bladen County.

Disasters that hit White Oak

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into White OakDeclared for Bladen County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

180 households applied for aid $165K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

209 households applied for aid $283K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $526 aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

92 households applied for aid $118K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

88 households applied for aid $55K aid approved

Bladen 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. White Oak 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 White Oak’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to White Oak. 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.