Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Orange Park faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Orange Park gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns, #17 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%), then hurricanes (26%). Flood insurance has paid 83 claims here since 1979.
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 stands out about Orange Park’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Orange Park 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
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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 Orange Park’s grade
River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Orange Park, and Orange Park’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 2%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B #17 of 638 in Florida; lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Orange Park’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Florida town has higher expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Orange Park has less expected damage per building than 97% of Florida towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.5M a year in losses across Orange Park: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Orange Park flood? Sometimes: 83 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Orange Park, from FEMA’s records: 22.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 85% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Irma48 claims · $3.6M
- Hurricane Josephine6 claims · $21K
- Hurricane Jeanne4 claims · $29K
Orange Park isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clay County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Orange Park
Disasters that paid out in Orange Park itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Orange Park), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Milton446 households applied for aid$107K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma5,657 households applied for aid$1.9M aid approved$829K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs48 flood claims paid for it, $3.6M
- 2016Hurricane Matthew$215K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2012Tropical Storm Debby92 households applied for aid$213K aid approved$9K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $88K
- 2008Tropical Storm Fay33 households applied for aid$16K aid approved$112K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $24K
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne428 households applied for aid$244K aid approved$77K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs4 flood claims paid for it, $29K
Show all 9
- 2004Hurricane Ivan17 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances518 households applied for aid$269K aid approved$118K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley$7K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs
Clay County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Clay County, 1999–2026.
Old photos of Orange Park after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Orange Park archive →Orange Park and its neighbors
Orange Park has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Park | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 83 |
| Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 27 |
| Jacksonville | C+more damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 3,865 |
| Lakeside | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 164 |
| Fleming Island | Cmore damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 144 |
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 Orange Park 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Orange Park
Is Orange Park at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Orange Park has lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #17 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%) and hurricanes (26%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Orange Park flood?
Flood insurance has paid 83 claims in Orange Park since 1979, $4.1M in all, or 22.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 85% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 9 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irma (48).
Is Orange Park 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 Clay County, 48% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Orange Park?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Orange Park’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Orange Park?
By FEMA money that reached Orange Park, Hurricane Irma (2017): 5,657 households applied for aid, $1.9M approved, and $829K to the Town of Orange Park for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irma: 48 paid, $3.6M.
Is Orange Park at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Orange Park’s rate for it is lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Orange Park.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Orange Park’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.