Natural hazards · Oak Island

Oak Island, TX natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oak Island comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oak Island?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oak Island to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding29%Hurricanes22%Tornadoes15%Drought10%Coastal flooding7%Wildfire5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Oak Island faces

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

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Coastal flooding

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Oak Island flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chambers County.

Disasters that hit Oak Island

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Oak IslandDeclared for Chambers County only

2017

Hurricane Harvey

1 household applied for aid

2008

Hurricane Ike

11 households applied for aid $164K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Rita

19 households applied for aid $34K aid approved

Chambers County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes 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. Oak Island 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 Oak Island’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Oak Island. 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.