On FEMA’s figures, Oroville East faces more hazard damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oroville East gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns, #230 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then wildfire (30%). Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1996.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Oroville East faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Oroville East’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oroville East, and Oroville East’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 30%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D #230 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Oroville East’s residents live in 5 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Oroville East has less expected damage per building than 73% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across Oroville East: $3.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Oroville East flood? Sometimes: 16 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Oroville East, from FEMA’s records: 4.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Oroville East isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Butte County.The storms Oroville East remembers
None of the 24 disasters declared for Butte County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Oroville East itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20145 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19964 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Landslides, declared for Butte County
- 20032 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Butte County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 11 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Butte County, 2004–2024.
Old photos of Oroville East after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oroville East archive →Oroville East and its neighbors
Oroville East is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Oroville | Cmore damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Oroville | C−more damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Kelly Ridge | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Oroville East | Dmore damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Palermo | Dmore damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 13 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Oroville East faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Oroville East
Is Oroville East at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oroville East has higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #230 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and wildfire (30%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Oroville East flood?
Flood insurance has paid 16 claims in Oroville East since 1996, $341K in all, or 4.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Oroville East in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Butte County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Oroville East?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oroville East’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Oroville East at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Oroville East’s rate for it is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oroville East.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oroville East’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.