Photo: Chris Phan ("functoruser") · CC BY 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Oakridge than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakridge gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #134 of 142 in Oregon. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Oakridge 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
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 Oakridge’s grade
River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Oakridge, and Oakridge’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D #134 of 142 in Oregon; higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Oakridge’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Oregon town has higher expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Oakridge has more expected damage per building than 94% of Oregon towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.6M a year in losses across Oakridge: $2.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Oakridge flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oakridge. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Oakridge isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lane County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oakridge
Disasters that paid out in Oakridge itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Oakridge), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Landslides, and Mudslides$20K to the City of Oakridge for repairs
- 2020Wildfires and Straight-line Winds9 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2019Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$43K to the City of Oakridge for repairs
- 2003Severe Winter Storms$4K to the City of Oakridge for repairs
Lane County has had 18 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lane County, 2020–2022.
Old photos of Oakridge after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oakridge archive →Get ready for what Oakridge 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.
- 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 Oakridge
Is Oakridge at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Oakridge has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #134 of 142 in Oregon. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Oakridge 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 Lane County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Oakridge?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oakridge’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 Oakridge?
By FEMA money that reached Oakridge, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2019): $43K to the City of Oakridge for repairs.
Is Oakridge at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Oakridge’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oakridge.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oakridge’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.